


And They Were Quarantined

by TheBeingOfEverything



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Demon Sex, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, Threesome - M/M/M, quarantine au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:00:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 29,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26607142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeingOfEverything/pseuds/TheBeingOfEverything
Summary: On the night Shiro died, Astaroth decided that if he couldn’t bring Rin to Satan, then Mephisto wasn’t going to get him, either. Unleashing a homebrewed virus seemed as good a way as any.With Rin sneezing out blue flame every other minute, there’s no way they can let him start at the Academy, and he’s a hazard around the monastery. Guess there’s only one place for him to go~
Relationships: Amaimon/Mephisto Pheles, Amaimon/Okumura Rin, Amaimon/Okumura Rin/Mephisto Pheles, Belial/Rin Okumura, Okumura Rin/Mephisto Pheles
Comments: 64
Kudos: 197





	1. Chicken Soup for the Demonic Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like, I saw the quarantine au challenge/tag going around on ao3 and realized that makes for a PERFECT one-shot a la It’s a Scent Thing. So hopefully this is only a two-parter and sticks to 30k bc otherwise it’s gonna be another 3 months like it took me for the BRS sequel lmao 
> 
> Also reminder I run a small, open-ship discord server for aoex anyone is welcome to join!: https://discord.gg/sAhbKby
> 
> Song of the Chapter: Contagious by Night Riots
> 
> Check out this amazing fanart omg!!!
> 
> <https://grimsgay.tumblr.com/post/634907376126935040/i-read-thebeingofeverything-s-quarantine-fic>  
> 
> 
> https://syntheticdelirium.tumblr.com/post/635607301273845760/couple-of-doodles-for-thebeingofeverythings

His eyes burned, but Rin resisted blinking.

Rain soaked his clothes and he shivered in the chill that seemed to sink straight into his bones.

Ahead of him and six feet under. That’s where his dad had ended up.

And Yukio…

The new strange appearance Rin had gained came with better hearing, the only reason he could pick up Yukio’s soft voice where he spoke. It didn’t make much difference because the words blurred and melted before he even registered them, joining the haze creeping over his head.

Then it was just him in the graveyard, Yukio having left with a long stare he couldn’t read to go back inside the church with the rest of the mourners.

He had to-he had to call that number, the one his old man had told him about. His dad’s friend.

Why did it seem like the keys blurred in his vision? Rin managed to get his shaky fingers to call the number saved in the phone.

It took him longer than it should have for him to realize the ringing on his phone was also coming from a secondary source nearby, and that he wasn’t alone anymore.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rin Okumura.” Strange purple hair, eyes a green that seemed to pierce straight through the cloud in Rin’s mind but only left him dizzier, and a voice that put him off-kilter trying to figure out what game it hinted at.

What?

“My name is Mephisto Pheles, I was a friend of Father Fujimoto’s,” the man said, bowing in a flourish that only enhanced the crazy clown get-up he wore. The white suit and flaring cape along with the eye-searing, patchwork pink umbrella had Rin squinting as he tried to make sense of it and couldn’t

What followed, Rin was only half-aware of. His head swam uncomfortably. He'd been thinking, over and over since the night everything had fallen apart. His decision weighed both alongside the phone in his pocket and now right before him, asking if he wanted to make a choice.

Fight, kill himself, or let the exorcists standing around him put him down for being the bastard son of Satan.

In the end, he'd already made up his mind.

Just, "Make me an exorcist."

Silence rang after his words. The rain, the only thing making a sound.

Rin sneezed and blue eclipsed the widening green eyes, the last thing he saw as unconsciousness took him under.

"Oh dear."

He collapsed.

* * *

"-know what's wrong with him, Sir Pheles?" Yukio's soft voice rose in the black of Rin's thoughts. The concern he could hear there pricked at him, though he couldn't shake the heaviness off.

At least, not until a hand pressed to his forehead, cool and making him realize he'd been burning up.

"Mmn," Rin groaned at the relief he felt, though it came out as a mumble, barely strong enough to reach his ears.

"I suspect this is Astaroth's doing--ah, waking up now, Mr. Okumura?"

Rin pressed his head into the touch, chasing after it as it seemed to pull back.

"Hot," he managed, desperately hoping it would get the hand back where it belonged, chasing the heat away.

"Yes, you have a fever." The hand returned, another wash of cold beating back the sickening haze.

Yeah, that was what the burning was. Rin tried to respond and couldn't. Breathing through a scratchy throat took all of his energy, the rest of it sapped up by the thumb rubbing a slow, comforting motion to his head.

"Someone will be repeating this to him when he can remember it, clearly."

Repeating what?

Yukio's response didn't reach him and he fell back into sleep.

* * *

His head hurt, was the first thought that breached the shallow sleep Rin had been in.

The second was how dry his mouth was, and the third how uncomfortably sticky he was beneath the sheets, t-shirt and sweatpants clinging to his skin.

When he opened his eyes, he recognized his room, though the process of doing even that much took him long enough that he immediately wanted to close them again.

Aside from him, no one else was around and an odd urge to cry welled up in his chest.

Tears burned at his eyes before he clamped down on the sudden reaction, licking at his chapped lips and trying to speak.

"Da-" his breath caught. The squeezing in his chest returned with a vengeance as memory reminded him why calling for Shiro wouldn't help.

Shame dragged the tears from his eyes down his already flushed and sweat-damp cheeks until he pressed them into the pillow.

Crying usually made him feel better, a release of his pent up emotions that he'd always privately considered healthier than the mind-erasing rages he could fall into.

Not this time. Rin lay on his tear and snot stained pillow long after his fit subsided, staring at the wall with glazed eyes. Eventually, dehydration forced him to try calling for whoever else was in the house.

"Yukio," the name scraped from his throat, sandpaper to the raw nerves as it threw him into ragged coughing.

It must have reached someone because the footsteps sounded and the door opened to reveal Yukio.

"You're awake, Rin," he said, coming forward and feeling at his forehead. It wasn't the cooling touch Rin remembered, or thought he did, anyway. He could have hallucinated the whole thing.

"Am I sick?" Rin rasped.

Wariness sent Yukio back, covering the move by going to one of the side-stands to bring a glass of water he'd somehow missed seeing.

"Yes. Here, drink." Why did he sound so short? The question didn't last long, vanishing with the water down his constricted throat. It only made his stomach turn in nauseating knots.

Taking deep breaths through his mouth to try quelling the nausea brought back the itching in his throat and just how stuffed his nose was. Every route left Rin in more misery while he shook on the bed.

Cold. He was cold, too.

"I've never been sick before," Rin stuttered out, eyes clenched shut in the hopes that it would stop the room from spinning.

"This," Yukio hesitated, long enough that Rin cracked his eyes open again to see Yukio staring at a point on the wall. "This isn't a normal sickness."

Foreboding filled Rin a heavy dread over Yukio's implication. Because nothing about Rin was normal now, and it apparently never had been, but the last thing he wanted was for Yukio to be a part of it.

Maybe he was just talking about a tricky illness Rin had somehow picked up. Maybe Yukio was just worried because this was the first time Rin had gotten sick. Rin would take either of those options.

"How much did dad tell you?" Yukio asked, voice barely above a whisper but he might as well have shouted it to Rin.

"A-about what?" Rin said in a last, grasping effort to stop the inevitable.

Blue eyes flashed in sudden emotion as Yukio snapped, "Don't play dumb, Rin, this is serious."

Don't…don't play dumb?

Rin reared back, heart thudding with his own twisting emotions. "What are you talking about? What do _you_ know?"

What _did_ Yukio know? What did he mean? Why was just thinking hurting Rin's head until he thought his skull might _split_ to let out the fire building in his core?

Yukio inhaled a steadying breath through his nose, and when he finished, faced Rin head-on.

"If you're asking about the truth of our birth, then yes, I know."

He knew. He _knew?_

"Now," Yukio continued like he hadn't just-like he hadn't admitted-hadn't-

The heat pushing at Rin from the inside erupted in a concentrated ball of fire before he could think.

"Ah!" Yukio cried out, thrown back with the force of Rin's flames until his back met the wall of the room and he gagged.

Yukio! Rin panicked, chest squeezing as the blue flames filled the room and pressed in on him, searing his exposed cheeks and licking at his clothes.

Stop! Stop it!

If it kept up, Yukio might-he might end up like _Shiro_.

As if on his command, the flames guttered and vanished like a candle blown out.

Rin heaved breaths that wouldn't bring enough air to his lungs as he looked at the evidence of his flare-up. The scorch marks, the charcoaled wood--and Yukio?

Groaning tore Rin forward to see Yukio sitting up, hand to his head and wincing. His shirt had burned edges, skin covered with the blackened remains.

“Yukio, I’m sorry!” Rin cried, frantic as he forced strength he didn't have into his limbs.

A stunned look replaced the dazed one on Yukio, glancing down at his arms as he panted.

"I'm sorry." Rin couldn't stop himself, words tumbling from his lips as his eyes welled up again and his nose began to itch.

"I didn't mean-" he sneezed and blue flames shot out, sending him quaking backwards with a groan.

It was too much. Everything hurt, the last of his energy went into trying to keep his eyes open and on Yukio.

He failed.

Rin fell under again.

* * *

Movement woke Rin next. A seismic shift in the space around him that had him making a weak attempt to curl inward.

"This just won't do." The voice was back. "He's clearly dangerous and highly volatile in his state."

"Yes."

That had been Yukio. Rin whimpered, dreaming of flashing blue and terrified eyes.

"It's _incredible_ you managed to escape the outburst unscathed."

Silence lasted so long it almost sent Rin into deeper sleep.

"What will happen now, Sir Pheles?"

"Hm," the presence moved closer to Rin and heat began to rise in him as he made another move--to flinch, to curl up, to _attack_. He didn't get the chance.

"There's really only one thing I can think of," the voice said, "He'll have to stay with me until this is all over."

Cold, blissful cold, lay across his forehead, leaving him burnt out, his building energy extinguished by the need to chase the rest of the heat from his limbs. It spread over him like a blanket of snow, his body lifted from the heated cocoon he'd been encased in.

"Maintain your own quarantine for now, Mr. Okumura. I'll call in a bit."

Something about the words had Rin clawing through the heavy blanket between dreams and waking just in time to tilt his head to see Yukio watching. The image of his twin and the worried expression painting his face vanished as Rin's world spun.

In a snap, the world righted itself.

Rin’s stomach didn’t, and ever-present nausea jolted him out of sleep as he heaved, gagging while tears sprung up to blur his vision. Acid bile burned his mouth and left a gummy, bitter-tasting layer that only had him drooling to try getting it out.

“Wonderful,” the voice sighed, dry and coming from right overhead. “You’re a handful and it’s only been a few seconds.”

Another snap and his clothes that had been sticking to his skin with sweat and bile were cleaned like it had never happened. The disgusting taste in his mouth was gone too, and Rin tongued his teeth as if he could find it again.

“Wha-” he mumbled, blinking and looking up. A raised brow over green eyes that pinned him beneath them made Rin realize he was being held. Recognition hit him a moment after as he said in a croak, “Magneto? Why are you carrying me?”

Now those green eyes were glaring at him as Rin got a sniff for his question.

“I’ll forgive you that, since you are ill right now and names aren’t your strong-suit,” came the short answer. “It’s Mephisto Pheles. Try to remember it this time.”

What kind of name--Rin shook his head, though it made him dizzy again as he tried to get past the weird, mouthful of a name he’d just butchered.

"You're carrying me," Rin said instead, fingers twitching against the chest he leaned to. He couldn't help what sounded like a growl from entering his mouth. "What's going on? Where's Yukio? Where's this?"

"This," Mephisto stressed, nodding to the area, "is my home where you'll be staying for the near future, which is very much not what I'd hoped for.

 _What?_ "Why?" Rin said in what would have been a shout if he could muster one. "What's going on?"

Mephisto huffed a breath through his nose, only reminding Rin how stuffy his was. The eye roll he got didn't help, either. "I can see your brother didn't get very far in explaining things to you before you blew a gasket."

He raised the hand he'd had near Rin's hip, snapping as they vanished from reality again.

Moaning with his roiling stomach as they reappeared had Mephisto dropping him to a soft surface and handing him a bucket just as Rin couldn't hold it in anymore. Sickly yellow bile stung at Rin’s mouth as he finished.

"Got that handy? Going to pass out again?"

Glaring at the seriously bad bedside manners Mephisto had didn't stop the dry expression as he waited on Rin. Rin winced and glanced down as he tried to collect himself, sighing, "No, Yukio was just saying I was sick and it sounded…it sounded like he knows. About me, what I am."

"Mm, that's because he does," Mephisto said in a sly hum.

Of course. _Of course_ Yukio knew. Bile sat heavy on Rin's tongue, eyes prickling as he hunched over before he could stop. The pink bucket with the little white dog pattern on it seemed to mock him through the new tears and he clutched at the rim until he thought it might shatter in his hands.

" _How?_ Whe-" Rin's voice cracked and he hated it, because _Mephisto_ wasn’t the one he wanted to be asking.

Except when he'd asked Yukio he'd burned him and Yukio had looked so _afraid_.

"This really shouldn't be coming from me," exactly, Rin wanted to hiss, but another wave of dizziness sent him falling back to the pillow, breathing shallowly as he concentrated on not passing out. "But we're on this path already so…"

Before Rin could try to figure out what Mephisto meant, he continued in that same careless way that irked Rin to no end, "Your brother happens to be under my employ. He's the youngest exorcist to gain his meisters and worked in the field by your father--the paladin and highest ranking exorcist's-- side, taking on demons causing problems in Assiah."

"Everything clear? This all getting through to you, Rin? Or should I try again later." He heard Mephisto, he did. None of it made sense. Rin didn't want it to make sense, because it did, in the same way Shiro holding a shotgun and reciting scripture to send strange, inhuman creatures scattering into blackened ash did.

"When?" he said, anger burnt up into the same ash the demons had become. The same he'd put on Yukio.

An unimpressed stare met him, like Mephisto was bored. "When what? You'll have to be more clear."

His hands spasmed their hold and the plastic creaked until it cracked as Rin spoke, not looking away from the damage he'd caused, "When did Yukio learn about this? How long has he known?"

"Ah," Mephisto sounded kind to Rin's numbed ears, "his whole life--well, he's seen demons from birth, he didn't learn the full truth until he was seven."

That was right about the time Yukio began going to his extra tutoring classes, and from then it had become extracurricular schooling because he was going to get into med school, going to become a doctor.

"Right," a clap startled Rin, though everything ached when he raised his head to see Mephisto smiling, "I have a feeling that was enough for today. Make yourself comfortable, try to aim for the bucket, and here-"

He tossed a remote onto Rin's lap that had a single button on it- "If you need anything, my servant, Belial, will be at your disposal."

A servant, he had a servant. What kind of weird, eccentric guy--itching in his nose overtook Rin and he sneezed, blue flames shooting forward into Mephisto’s stunned face.

Shit! He’d burned someone _else_.

Blue swirled away, leaving the room empty of the heat and light it created to reveal Mephisto unharmed and still unamused.

“Sorry!” Rin yelped past the miserable runny nose and building pressure that had developed behind his eyes.

“I can see you’ll need this too,” Mephisto said with a snap of his fingers. The pink smoke cloud had sparkles in it, Rin realized numbly, watching the smoke dissipate around Mephisto’s hand to show a box of kleenex.

It also ended up tossed to Rin’s legs--and was that the same white dog that was on his bucket?

Still, “Thanks, Mephisto,” Rin said, subdued, and pulled the box towards him to leave it on the bedside table as he fought yet more guilt.

His apology and gratitude got him a last slide of Mephisto's gaze to his body before he turned from the bedside to leave.

"Rest well, Rin." The words startled Rin, more, as a cool touch brushed the fevered skin at his forehead, falling just when Rin began to lean into it without his say.

"Thanks," Rin mumbled after Mephisto, watching the space he'd vanished from long after he left. His aching body reminded him he was sick after a while and dragged his head to the pillow.

Unfamiliar walls surrounded Rin and the sight followed him down into fitful dreams.

* * *

"Our prince is found!"

"The lost prince is alive!"

"Our prince returns!"

Amaimon cast a bored gaze at the empty Gehenna sky, the one that felt like it filled with nothing except the susurrus of cries about Father's spawn nowadays.

The past week since Astaroth had come home with the news, he'd heard nothing else. He hadn't decided yet if it was annoying, though he'd come to a decision if it kept up much longer.

Despite himself, curiosity accompanied the apathy his existence had become recently. It could be that Father's spawn would offer some entertainment he couldn't seem to find in the demons he tore through in Gehenna.

Though he wasn't convinced a nephilim could offer any kind of real entertainment.

So when he was approached by Iblis to take a message to Samael, Amaimon agreed with a shrug. Anything to kill his boredom, even if it ended up being nothing special.

Except when Amaimon appeared in Assiah at the edges of Samael's territory something seemed off, though he couldn't place it.

A scent curled at the edges of his senses, mixed into Samael's mark over everything he owned.

He didn't get a chance to pick it apart further as Samael met him, though as he formed across from Amaimon, the scent came into sharp relief.

Amaimon's nose wrinkled as he spoke before Samael got the chance, "What is that smell?"

Irritation painted Samael. “Is that anyway to greet me after such a long time? Where did your manners go?”

Oh yeah, he’d forgotten. Though if Samael wanted him to remember things like that he should have gotten rid of whatever distracting scent was making Amaimon’s nose burn.

“I’m sorry, Mephisto,” he said, tasting the strange scent on his tongue as he used the current name Samael had chosen and insisted on being called by. Both were strange to him, but only one of those would change any time soon, probably.

“Hmf, yes, you’re forgiven,” Samael said, sniffing, as he waved a hand in dismissal. “Now, what brings you to Assiah?”

Somehow, Amaimon was sure Samael knew. There wasn’t any way he didn’t, but he’d play along with the script.

He laid out the uproar Gehenna was in, watching Samael’s face not change a sliver from the cool satisfaction he always seemed to wear, even when he lightly suggested that Samael had known exactly where Father’s spawn had been hidden all these years. Not that it made a difference to Amaimon.

After listening to Samael’s return message for their siblings and Father, Amaimon nodded, then waited.

“Hm? You’re still here?” Samael said when he noticed his stare.

“Yes, that scent,” Amaimon pressed, “What is it?”

The exasperated sigh from Samael didn’t put him off the question, standing there until it looked like he’d get an answer. He might have let it go another time, but he was bored, and this could be something interesting.

“Astaroth left a little gift on his last visit,” Samael finally said, and now that he had, the scent matched with something of Astaroth’s creation. “Inconvenient, but it’ll pass.”

That was true. Though Amaimon wondered just how inconvenienced Samael really was, that it stuck to his vessel so closely. Enough to follow him around his whole territory and linger. Unless Samael hadn’t eliminated the source and kept returning to it.

“Ok, thank you,” Amaimon said after he’d thought about it, seeing the nod from Samael before he left back to Gehenna. He’d wanted to ask Samael when he would finally come home to Gehenna, but the strange scent had put that on hold, especially with the irritation Samael hadn’t hid.

As the acidic scent of rot faded from Amaimon’s senses now that he wasn’t near Samael, he worried a claw between his fangs, mulling over what he’d learned and how he felt about it.

Interesting, or not?

He made up his mind, a slow smile stretching his mouth. Samael was hiding something he didn’t want Amaimon snooping around to see, and Gehenna was obsessed with news of their prince’s return.

Originally, he’d intended to stick around in Gehenna. Originally.

Time to deliver his message, then Amaimon was tracking down whatever Astaroth’s little gift was.

* * *

Rin wanted to cry again, this time because of the ache in his stomach. He’d already thrown everything up, so why was it still heaving? Pain lanced through him at another lurch and he coughed wetly, though nothing came out. Any more and he thought he’d start coughing up blood as his already raw throat protested the violent gagging.

He’d passed in and out of sleep, at times burning, then freezing, then both at once until he’d become a trembling mess on twisted covers.

Through it all, thoughts coated with guilt kept invading his dreams. He'd wake with one digging like a knife into every crack in his head, turning them into crevasses.

Now he was awake, though, and getting desperate. Rin had grown bored in between puking his guts out and trying to sleep in the hopes that he’d be better when he woke next. His phone only made his head hurt, the words swimming on the screen worse than usual until he had to resist throwing it into the furthest corner.

Yukio hadn’t texted.

When he’d noticed, Rin had tried to reason with himself, cycling through the possible lack of notifications. Maybe Yukio was just busy, maybe he didn’t think Rin was awake yet, since he’d been unconscious so much the last who knew how long.

Or, maybe the paranoid thoughts whispering in his head were right and he was still scared of Rin.

On the nightstand, the remote caught his eye, and, without anything else to keep his thoughts away, Rin reached to press the one button it had.

It stared at him. How was he supposed to know if it worked?

The door opened and Rin jolted in bed, groaning in the next instant because his entire body shook at the surprise.

Dark eyes that matched the hair and what looked like a butler suit of the person--demon? Was it rude to ask? A voice that sounded like Yukio said it was--was Rin's first impression. The second was that he had a cool, blank expression that pierced straight past the haze in Rin.

"How can I assist you, my prince," he spoke, confusing Rin further. My prince?

Then his memory shook through the haze too, of the demon who'd attacked him and made him sick like he was. He'd also called Rin by that title. Which meant this guy was probably a demon too.

"Just Rin," he said through a tight throat, "and I was--do you have any water or an ice pack?"

Mephisto had said anything. Rin just wanted to not feel so hot.

"That," the demon said, drawing it out as if searching for the word, "that would not be correct, my prince. I’ll return with your requests.”

Just as quietly as he’d arrived, the demon left. It took even longer for Rin to realize he had no idea what his name was. Mephisto told him, he knew that much. Bel-something?

Next time the demon showed up, he’d ask.

Clicking at the door had Rin blinking in a flutter of lashes, coming to from the sleep that had stolen over him without his notice. Flushing at having fallen asleep in what was probably a short time, Rin forced himself into a more upright position and accepted the drink and ice pack from the demon’s gloved hands.

“Thank you,” Rin said, sighing with relief as he brought the ice pack to his head, though his arm shook with the effort.

“Ah, wait,” he called, stalling the demon half-way through the door. “What’s your name?”

“Belial.” He’d been right! Or at least he’d remembered the first half of the name.

“Thanks, Belial,” he tested the name out, trying to figure out the weird syllables and struggling even more because his tongue felt heavy in his mouth. But it seemed to be enough when Belial nodded and bowed before leaving with another formal “my prince.”

Dammit. Rin hissed as he slowly lowered himself to the bed. Next time he would get Belial to loosen up on the prince thing.

He’d forgotten to reply. Speech felt like it pulled every ounce of energy from him, sapping Rin.

Just the simple exchange he’d had left Rin slumped against the bed again and panting in shallow breaths. Colors that made up the various objects in the room added to the images that refused to make sense until Rin gave up.

Keeping the ice pack on his head became more of a challenge than Rin could handle. His hand shook, fingers numb as he pressed his clenched eyes to the cold. He just had to-just had to…

The ice pack slipped to his chest, hand flopping down soon after as Rin shuddered. Was the melt dampening his cheeks from the surface of the ice pack, or more stupid tears he didn’t want to acknowledge the source of?

Mocking him, his phone stayed dark. He’d had no notifications show up even after he’d slept again.

“M’sorry,” Rin whispered in a brittle rasp to the empty room, weak limbs curling up until he could hide his face in his knees. When his sweatpants dampened under his cheek, Rin pretended it was the ice pack he hadn’t tossed aside.

* * *

He wasn’t hungry, which, from the times Yukio had been sick, Rin knew to be one of the symptoms. Memories of asking Shiro what he could make for Yukio rose. Kid him had been scared of Yukio not having anything for an entire day, certain he’d waste away with just water and the occasional ginger ale that was supposed to settle his stomach.

Now, dealing with his own lack of appetite, Rin understood why Yukio wouldn’t want anything while he recovered. Just the thought of trying to force something that wasn’t water down made his stomach turn in threatening knots.

Sniffling had Rin swiping at his nose on automatic with a tissue, adding it to the pile he’d tossed in the bucket for lack of anywhere else. The box was already down to its last few and he still couldn’t breathe, though Rin counted the fact that his nose wasn’t rubbed raw like had happened to Yukio as one perk of his demonic heritage he reluctantly appreciated.

The urge to get out of bed wouldn't leave him, though. He'd sweated through his pajamas and the ice pack had gone warm. A shower or bath kept sounding like a better and better idea.

Rin just had to convince his body to move.

Just lift the covers, untangle them from his legs, lay down because even that simple movement wiped him out, wake up, remember what he'd been doing…

"Oka-" Rin tried to say to himself, barely getting past the first syllable before his throat closed up and a wheezing breath choked out instead.

Okay, he repeated in his head when he could breathe again. Already halfway there, he just had to swing his legs over the side of the bed--Rin gave another cheer that felt a little hysterical, even if he hadn't said it out loud, as he sat at the edge of the bed.

Giggles at his own ridiculousness made his chest hurt before he contained them and made to stand.

Using the bedframe, Rin convinced his trembling body to get up, easing off the bed until his feet touched the carpeted floor.

Good. He was standing now. Confident, Rin took a step, then another, breaking from his hold on the bedframe to head towards the door he really hoped was connected to a bathroom.

Each step sent him wobbling, the easy strength his limbs had always carried in the past refused to come no matter how Rin grumbled in annoyance. But there was no way he was asking for help getting to the bathroom like some kind of _kid_.

Why was the damn room so big?

At the internal complaint, Rin stumbled, distracted by the sight of the door that seemed forever ahead of him as vertigo took over.

He made the mistake of looking down.

Oh god. His vision swung and kept swinging well past the point he’d stopped moving his head as Rin toppled to the floor, landing with a hard slam to his elbow and head.

A long whine broke past his lips, the only noise he could manage as his head and elbow throbbed. The vertigo didn’t let up, Rin’s stomach tossing like the worst case of seasickness as he gasped into the carpet.

Opening his eyes tipped him over the edge and Rin gagged whatever liquid had tried to collect in his stomach onto the carpet.

After long minutes where his body tried to turn itself inside-out, Rin was able to stop. He kept his still spinning gaze on the far wall, trying to use it as a steadying point. His cheek stuck to the carpet in a way he really didn’t want to think about too hard.

Shit, he’d missed the bucket by a longshot. It seemed to mock him from its position on the nightstand and Rin--Rin couldn’t bring up the energy to growl his annoyance like he wanted. Sucking in a thin breath to prepare himself still didn’t make the room behave when he turned his head. Ahead of him stretched the last long distance to the bathroom and just looking at it made Rin’s body heavier at imagining crossing the rest of the way.

Passing out on the floor began to look appealing, Rin’s eyes drifting closed as he struggled with why sleeping where he’d landed wasn’t the best idea. Self-awareness had Rin admitting his break for the bathroom hadn’t been his greatest idea, either, but he wouldn’t be making it so his only option was to go back to the bed.

Fine. Good. Rin rolled to his knees, swaying to catch himself on locked joints until he accepted that he'd never be able to stand on his own right then. He'd just have to crawl his way to the bed.

Curses layered in his mind each inch closer, the short journey leeching what little energy he'd gathered. But Rin made it, dropping to the side of the bed and shivering.

That had been a bad idea, especially when Rin tilted his head to see the bed he still had to make it up onto. As if to spite himself, his body listed over and Rin crumpled to his arms in a delayed reaction to stop his fall.

“ _Stupid_ ,” Rin wheezed out, hauling himself up as he berated the impulse to get out of bed in the first place. Even pressing to lift his upper body back into a seated position had black spots blanketing his vision.

Raising a hand, Rin gripped at the blanket, tugging. The blanket slid down to pile uselessly on the floor because Rin couldn't even manage more than _that_.

A soft thud against the carpet had Rin's head lolling to see the remote.

His hand dropped, fumbling to press the button before he clutched his arms around his middle.

Stupid! Why had he thought he could do that? Why couldn't he ever think things _through?_ He’d been told so many times to just think before he jumped into things. So many times his dad and Yukio--and then he'd burned Yukio, made him afraid, proven he was the demon everyone said he was. He'd killed his _dad--no,_ no, that had been _Satan_. His dad _loved_ \--had loved--him, had called him "son" at the end.

It wasn't Rin's fault, it wasn't his _fault_.

“My prince,” the even voice jerked Rin’s head up from where he’d hid against his knees, gasping when he saw Belial standing a careful distance away with his face schooled into a blank expression.

Without comment, Belial reached down, though when he stood again, Rin had to concentrate on keeping his head steady. He'd suddenly become very aware of the stale mess on his face and Belial's suit was so sharp and clean.

Furrowed brows met Rin's pathetic attempts to push back from the front of his suit as Rin stuttered apologies.

"Sorry, I was trying-I thought I could make it to the bathroom-I-"

"Hm," the non-committal hum had Rin blushing, seeing the slowly climbing brow on a face he was used to getting from Yukio. "Allow me."

They'd already begun moving towards the door by the time Rin caught up to what was happening and hurried to explain, "Not to go! I just thought-maybe a shower-ah, but you don't need to take me."

Too late, the door opened and an expansive bathroom greeted Rin, bigger than both the small ones they had at home _combined_.

A small seat in the middle of the walk-in shower drew Rin's eyes as he swallowed.

In a series of motions Rin couldn't track because his mind was still fritzing on what he'd gotten himself into, Belial had him stripped, a towel wrapped around his waist, and Rin seated beneath the hot shower spray.

"Uh," Rin mumbled, sure that if he hadn't been sick, he'd be bright red from sheer embarrassment. "Thanks, Belial."

As it was, steam from the shower came in soft wisps to Rin's face and the water soothed the chill in his bones, making the deep, throbbing ache that much more apparent.

And Belial didn't seem to be moving from his watch.

"You don't have to stay," Rin said from over his shoulder, though the unblinking black eyes on him said Belial wasn't convinced. "Really, I'm good, maybe just some soap and I'll be done in fifteen minutes?"

There, maybe he'd take him at his word, Rin thought, sighing to send clouds of steam out while Belial shifted. Except he was coming towards Rin, not away.

"Sir Pheles will hang me by my fangs."

What? Rin squeaked as Belial made it to him, having rolled his sleeves up and tilted the head of the shower so that it only hit Rin.

Clicking sent Rin's ears twitching and his shoulders trying to hunch, though just having a veritable stranger at his back forced him to straighten up.

Tension locked his elbows, hands flexing at the sides of the seat and hairs raising as he waited.

Rin couldn't help the jolt as claws scraped at his scalp, shivering at the feeling of someone washing his hair like he hadn't experienced since he was a kid.

It just-it felt really good.

The sinus headache he'd had since he'd started getting sick ebbed whenever Belial rubbed over certain points. His ears began to droop, tail flicking in lazy contentment at his feet.

Rumbling started up in Rin's chest, shocking him out of the doze he'd been in as he placed it as something like the purrs cats made. Not that he'd ever had a pet cat, but he'd befriend the strays around the city and the sound was the closest he could think of.

Weird. It was so weird. Though Rin wasn't sure if anything was weirder than the situation he was in now.

Still…

The purring started up again. If Rin was going to be in this incredibly awkward situation, then he was going to enjoy himself because otherwise it would have been for nothing.

Drifting back into his doze eased more of the ache as Rin focused on keeping himself seated and the muffling sounds of the shower.

Claws at his neck shook him awake, his eyes shooting open and pulse skipping to feel the light touch directing his head back.

"Please close your eyes, my prince," Belial said, staring down at Rin through the shower spray. Something in his eyes had sharpened, or maybe it was just the bright lights in the bathroom reflecting off them to show the slit pupils. "I'm going to rinse the shampoo out now."

Right, yeah. Rin shut his eyes, neck arched as Belial smoothed his bangs back from his forehead, scrubbing the suds away.

Another click, and Belial's hands returned, though Rin couldn't quite relax, something about the position leaving him off-centered. Maybe it was the claws that caught at his skin, the light scratches hinting at their true danger, but with each pass, Rin cared less and less about that possibility.

Finally, with a last sweep, Belial finished, standing back while Rin collected himself as he blinked to get the water from his eyes.

“Will you stay longer, my prince?” Belial said, voice rising over the surreal stupor Rin had fallen into.

“No,” Rin said as an afterthought. He licked at his lips, body heavy all of a sudden as keeping himself upright began to seem less and less important.

Through the contentment in Rin, Belial shut off the shower, replacing his towel with a dry one before the chill could get a chance to set in, and gathered him up again. Rin nodded off, finding breathing came easier after the steam in the shower had cleared his sinuses some. It was enough to scent out Belial and his new room, traces of other scents distracting him as he tried to place them and couldn’t.

Rin’s head pressed to Belial’s chest, and he vaguely hoped his hair wasn’t getting things too wet. Between one blink and the next, he’d been settled into his bed, the sheets newly made and cleaned, his bucket cleared and kleenex refilled on the nightstand.

Mumbled thanks passed his lips, though he wasn’t sure if he’d said them aloud, and Rin gave up the fight with sleep.

* * *

Familiar scents greeted Amaimon when he reformed in Assiah. Samael’s territory spread out, lit by the lights humans used to see by. Layering over all of it was that pervasive sickness he now knew to belong to one of Astaroth’s creations.

Like a beacon, the scent curled out from the center of Samael’s territory. A beacon, or a warning, as anything of Astaroth’s was likely to be highly contagious and lesser demons would know better than to approach.

Well, Amaimon was bored.

He leapt to the window of Samael’s bedroom, appearing inside with another thought as he tried to place where in the house he would be. Given it was the middle of the night, there was one room more likely than the others.

Amaimon tapped a claw to the door, opening it when he heard a short sound from inside.

“Amaimon?” Samael said, frowning over his shoulder before going back to the bright screen and whatever video game he’d loaded up that night. “What’s brought you back here so soon?”

Standing over Samael, Amaimon watched with dwindling interest at whatever was happening on the screen, responding, “I’m bored.”

Sighing met him, not that he expected anything different.

“And so you came here instead of any of the numerous other places in Assiah and Gehenna to sate your boredom. I’m flattered.”

That was probably something like the truth, Amaimon decided. Samael liked when he felt important.

Sound at the door interrupted Amaimon from seeing if he could get Samael's attention focused on him, and the servant entered.

Immediately, Amaimon snapped his gaze towards him, nose flaring as he brought in the scent coming from the still body.

"Astaroth's gift is here," Amaimon stated with no room for deflection.

Samael paused his game, standing to come to Amaimon's side and crossing his arms. "It seems I won't be keeping this from you."

No. Definitely not.

"Well?" Samael huffed, flicking his fingers towards his servant, "How is he?"

Bowing, the servant spoke, "Yes sir, he's asleep now. He requested an ice pack and water earlier, and then tried to reach the bathroom but couldn't and collapsed. He called me and requested a shower, then I returned him to his bed."

That simple chain of events should have been boring, in any other case it would have been. But Amaimon watched the slivering of Samael's pupils and decided it wasn't boring.

"Come along, then, Amaimon," Samael waved a hand at the door, "we'll satisfy your curiosity and check up on the new addition."

Snapping his fingers took them from the room, Amaimon glancing around once they reappeared to see one of the many guest rooms Samael had that never actually got any use.

Ahead of him, the acidic scent of decay overlayed with the distinct scent of Gehenna. A sneeze itched at Amaimon, both drawn and repelled by the combination assaulting his senses.

Luckily, Samael didn't stall, opening the door to reveal the source of the uproar--and he was unconscious.

Soft breaths whistled on each struggling exhale from parted lips. Black hair stuck to sweat-drenched skin and bruises darkened the eyes of Father's spawn over his flushed cheeks.

He looked weak.

"A shower, you say," Samael murmured, gaze fixed on the pulse fluttering in the vulnerable throat. "And he let you do this?"

"Yes sir."

At the confirmation, Samael hummed, moving forward to the bedside to stare down at the hapless figure. Though, Amaimon wasn’t actually sure how a creature so weak would put up much of a fight even if he’d objected to something.

Baffling. What was even more baffling was the keen interest flashing across Samael’s eyes and hidden in his mild expression as he set his palm over the pale forehead, a gentle touch that stole Amaimon’s attention.

Instead of flinching away from Samael, the creature shifted to press closer in a display of trust that had Amaimon wanting to test it for himself.

How would Father’s spawn react to his presence? Was he reacting like that towards Samael because he contained their aspects? He could taste Gehenna flames on the air, even if they hadn’t been called, and it warred with the presented image.

“Have you satisfied your curiosity, Amaimon?” Samael’s question took him away from watching the slow pass of his thumb over fragile skin.

Thinking about it, Amaimon came to his conclusion, “No.”

“Oh?”

Samael’s questioning word had Amaimon chewing at a claw again as he answered.

“I still don’t know why everyone’s so interested in him when he’s so weak and pathetic,” he glanced up to see Samael waiting. “So I want to find out.”

"I see," Samael took his hand away with a last scrape to fix the mussed strands of hair before settling back to his side, "Well, I didn’t quite need you to show up yet.”

So, he _hadn’t_ wanted Amaimon around. The confirmation just made Amaimon more determined to stay.

“But,” Samael said as if he’d come to a decision, turning to face Amaimon, “if you’re set on sticking around, I’ll allow it, so long as you don’t reveal yourself to him in this form.”

That would be simple. Amaimon could do that. With a thought, he shifted.

Smoke cleared after his transformation and Amaimon stared up the long distance to Samael before launching his smaller body onto the surface of the bed and crawling to settle on the softly rising chest.

“I accept,” he said, making himself comfortable in his spot. Besides, Samael hadn’t been clear enough. He’d only said _Amaimon_ couldn’t reveal himself in his other form, not that Father’s spawn couldn’t somehow discover the truth another way.

“Excellent, then I’ll leave you to watch him as you please,” Samael said as he moved to the door. “You should also know, his name is Rin Okumura.”

Rin Okumura.

He registered Samael and his servant’s departures behind him but already focused on the sleeping face of his newest source of entertainment.

When would he wake up?

Amaimon burrowed closer to the heat at Rin Okumura’s core and waited.

* * *

Waking came to Rin gradually, though that just meant that every ache and pain made itself known to him one by one.

"Mmn," he mumbled, too weak to be the full groan he really wanted to release as he lay with his eyes closed.

The vertigo hadn't returned, at least, though he'd know for sure once he got the energy to open his eyes.

Feeling each individual symptom only took so long before Rin began repeating himself, sighing as he blinked.

Green where it shouldn't be.

Rin blinked again.

No, it was still there.

Two spots of beady red peered back at him from the little green mound on his chest.

Was that a spike on top of it?

The mound blinked too, its nose twitched.

"What the hell?" Rin whispered, mouth dropping as his tired mind tried to catch up to what his eyes were telling him was some kind of green hamster sitting there, watching him sleep. "Am I hallucinating?"

Had whatever was up with him started giving him hallucinations too?

Raising a trembling hand, Rin went to check his sanity. The little red eyes tracked his hand the whole way down until he prodded the spike.

Soft fur, a warm body, and that was definitely a heartbeat he felt under the tips of his fingers as he stroked them down the delicate spine.

"Oh my god," the words squeezed out as Rin cooed, bringing up his other hand to scratch behind one of the round ears.

The little chin tilted up as he started scratching there, red eyes closed in what looked like contentment as the round body began to look more like a flat pancake under Rin's ministrations.

"Ok, you've gotta be lost or something," he said, not that he anticipated a response, but it wasn't like he had anyone else to talk to. "Maybe you belong to Mephisto?"

As if hearing his words, the hamster jerked in a snap of teeth to bite Rin's finger.

"Ah!" Rin yelped, shaking his hand out, "Ouch, dammit, what was that for?"

He didn't get an answer, just a flick of the ear as the hamster cleaned itself with its paws.

"Ok fine, I won't do…whatever it was I did if you promise not to bite again." Yukio would be giving him the _longest_ stare for talking to a hamster, Rin knew.

Yukio wasn't there though.

No texts, Rin's phone sat silent on the charger. His mood plummeted, head dropping back to the pillow as he took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to cry about it, it was just the stupid sickness making him more emotional.

Pressure alerted him to the hamster moving in a scrabble of tiny feet. When he looked, he went cross-eyed, eyelashes fluttering while claws needled into the skin of his nose.

"Sorry, I'm bad company right now," Rin said in an apology he felt dumb for but also it felt even better just to talk at all instead of moping in silence.

Hesitating, Rin tested whether he'd get bit again, brushing a finger in a repetitive motion to the hamster once it seemed like he'd be ok.

“I just,” he shuddered as he spoke, hiding in the hamster's belly where it draped itself over his nose. Each word moved his lips to the fur and he could almost pretend he was just talking into a pillow, or something. “I messed up, and nothing makes sense anymore--Yukio hasn’t said anything-- _no one’s_ said anything.”

It hurt to talk, Rin’s throat kept threatening to close completely around the lump forming in it the more he said.

“I can’t leave this bed because I got this stupid virus, or whatever it is.”

As if to remind him it existed, his body gave a twinge, stomach aching, though luckily since he didn’t have anything in it, it just threatened to heave. Rin focused on the soft fur under his fingers, wishing he could smell anything and wondering if he should ask for another shower.

Being able to breathe for even a few minutes had been worth the awkwardness of the ordeal.

Distracting himself with petting the hamster and trying to forget the shower only worked for the time it took to think about it before Rin sank back into his dark mood.

"And I _killed_ -I let my dad get killed, I-" he broke on the last word, unable to keep the hot tears from rolling down his cheeks. "I can't do _anything_ right."

Rin was alone. He'd burned every tie one by one until even Yukio wouldn't talk to him and he'd probably even terrified the priests if they weren't messaging either.

He was...he was alone. For the first time in his life, Rin didn’t have Yukio or Shiro. Just a big room to himself filled with unfamiliar things, a quiet caretaker and an absent host.

All he had now was a goal he'd decided on without knowing a thing about what it would take.

Crying began to heat Rin, the current cold he’d been shivering through becoming a wave of sweltering fire that only made him more aware of the sticky tear tracks tickling uncomfortably at his skin.

The discomfort led him to forcing his eyes open as he rubbed at the tears so he could see. In an instant, his mood stabilized from the dive it had taken the moment he caught sight of the hamster. It had fallen asleep on his nose, little body moving every time it breathed.

Carefully, so carefully, Rin shifted the covers from himself, exhaling a sigh of relief as he shoved them to the side.

His tail--the one he _still_ hadn’t gotten used to--twitched miserably where it twined around his leg, fur mussed and sticking on end with sweat. Rin eased it from beneath his leg but winced as fur caught and tugged. The pain seemed magnified, and it hurt just to lift himself enough to slip his tail free, letting it trail off the side of the bed where it swung in limp motions.

Then it was just moving the hamster from his face so he could get water because he couldn't seem to get enough, everything he drank dehydrating him or ending in him tossing it back up.

"Sorry," he whispered as he slid a finger beneath the hamster's belly, getting more of that empty stare from the eyes when they opened. "You can sleep here--look! I'll even give you a little bed."

So saying, he directed his tail up to curl around the small form, the end forming a perfect nest on his chest.

It had frozen in the center, clawed fingers gripped tight to the dark strands of fur and stuck with its gaze locked on Rin's.

Laughing at the sight didn't help as Rin devolved into a coughing fit, but it was too cute and ridiculous to stop. He grabbed his water glass, draining it in small sips until his stomach gave a warning lurch and he stopped.

"Thanks for listening to me," he said, releasing another soft laugh as he slipped an idle finger over the stunned hamster. Not that he was sure why he was still talking, but it had made him feel better, so it only made sense to thank the creature that had led to his improved mood.

Despite the headache his crying had flared to life, Rin smiled, enjoying the companionship of his new friend until it relaxed again and slept. He followed close behind.

* * *

“Guten morgen!”

Rin flinched from sleep at the loud voice coming from the door. It echoed the headache that had moved from a constant, dull throb to a spiking pain pounding at the inside of his skull.

He let out a hiss before he opened his eyes, anger flooding his system at the rude awakening and even more when he opened his eyes to find piercing light.

“Ah,” the lights flicked off and Mephisto spoke in a more normal volume as Rin glared at him, “I can see your headache hasn’t improved.”

“What do you want?” Rin groaned at the smile facing him, hand moving to cover his eyes and rub at the source of the pain in the hopes it would go away--and maybe that Mephisto would go away too, while he was at it.

“I’ve been speaking with your brother.”

His hand froze its motions and fell from his eyes, heart stuttering as Rin tried to process what Mephisto had just said. “You talked to Yukio?”

“Naturally,” Mephisto said, moving towards him and poofing a chair into existence so he could sit by Rin. “He’s been keeping me apprised of the situation at the monastery.”

“The situation?” Rin repeated, still lost and unable to understand why Yukio texting Mephisto and not him sent the pressure in his skull sky-rocketing.

Green eyes surveyed him as Mephisto cocked his head. “You didn’t know? Your brother has had his hands full caring for the rest of those priests after they came down with the same virus as you--they were caught in Astaroth’s attack too, you recall.”

Yukio had been-

But, “That doesn’t make sense,” Rin’s voice cracked, partly from anger--because he _still_ couldn’t bring the two concepts together--and partly from the way his throat had begun to squeeze up again. “Isn’t he gonna get sick too?”

The worry in his voice just got him a wry tilt of Mephisto’s smile and a wave of his hand. “You’ll be pleased to know your brother is asymptomatic to this particular virus. Lucky him.”

Relief washed some of the ire from Rin, a breath whooshing past his lips to know that Yukio wasn’t texting him because he’d somehow fallen into the same miserable sickness he’d been stuck with.

With his relief came the rest of the emotions, a tide of questions about why Yukio had been able to talk with Mephisto but hadn’t found time for Rin sent his head throbbing and heat rising in his gut.

“He’s left me with some things for you as well,” Mephisto continued, snapping to bring out a stack of what looked like textbooks and writing materials, like school work, on the nightstand.

“Yukio left you homework,” Rin said slowly, mouth numb around his words as he stared at the pile, “for me. He left you homework for me. Why? Isn’t he in the same classes?”

Mephisto blinked, then startled into a laugh as if Rin had said something funny.

“I did say your brother was our youngest certified exorcist, yes? He’s already graduated and is _teaching_ your class. Well, he will be once you’re both cleared to start on campus.”

Of course Yukio was smart enough to have graduated already. Why would Rin have ever thought they’d be in the same classes? White noise rushed in his ears, joining the throbbing in his head

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” The cheer didn’t reach Rin, neither did the wave Mephisto gave him as he vanished again.

Small movement in the blankets brought Rin to turn towards the covers in a creak of his neck, seeing the hamster poke its body out from where it had slept.

His phone vibrated and Rin jerked his gaze to the nightstand, hand lashing out to nearly knock the phone to the floor before he got a hold of it.

Shaking, Rin saw Yukio’s name light up on the screen and opened his message.

“I’ve assigned your readings and school work for the next month so you don’t fall behind. Don’t forget to do them--Yukio.”

Don’t forget to do them.

A deep breath shivered past his lips. Another.

Don’t forget to do them.

_Yukio-_

It hurt!

The throbbing in his skull turned into a lancing knife behind his eyes as the pressure billowed outwards and he lost control.

Heat lashed along with his wordless cry as Rin hunched over his stomach, gripping at it like he could dig the horrible feeling out with his claws, that he could somehow stop every bad feeling he was unable to avoid when he was stuck with a stack of school work and a single text and _alone_.

A high-pitched squeal made its way over the rushing in Rin’s ears, adding to the confusion as he came back to himself with a start.

What was…

Blue met his sight when he opened his eyes, and Rin realized the bed was on fire.

The bed and everything else not him!

“No, stop-stop!” Rin panicked, vision tunneling on the body of the hamster he could see blackening and writhing where his flames kept it trapped.

_Stop!_

Again, the flames answered his command, vanishing in a last wash of heat to his cheeks and leaving the room silent except for his gasping breaths.

He’d killed the hamster. There was no way it was still alive. He was some kind of monster, Shiro had been _wrong_. Yukio was _right_ to be scared of him when he did things like this, when he burned Yukio and did the same thing he’d gotten into fights over in the past trying to prevent.

What had happened to him that he’d become what he’d always hated? Those same bullies that shot pigeons for fun or pulled the legs off insects Rin had been _furious_ about and now he was just like them.

Demon. He was a demon. _Disgusting, horrible-_

Hiccuping cries joined the too-fast breaths from his lungs, hands trembling where he held them around the still body but not touching.

Rin couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t _breathe_.

Everything spun around the image imprinted in his eyes like he’d burned it there himself, black creeping in the longer he couldn’t get air to his lungs.

With a last breathless heave, unconsciousness dragged him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh sorry for the cliffhanger XD It seemed like the best place to stop at like 30 pages in the doc with another 30+ to go. This one was labeled scene 10 and in total there’s 22 scenes and it’s looking like it’s gonna end up at that 30k after all T.T On the plus side! I’m at 54 pages, and up to scene 14, which means the next chapter should be done by the end of the month :D
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed the start of the sick fic fun~


	2. A Minor Inconvenience, Really

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin would say he probably preferred the week he was too out of it to where he's at now. He'd also like to point out that he makes a way better caretaker than Mephisto. Amaimon wants in on that action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took like half a month longer than it should have but this time of year is always busy for me so I probly should have expected it lol 
> 
> Also, somehow during writing this I discovered a crack ship and now I am in desperate need for Belial/Rin content for that good servant/royalty trope. But that's for the rut sequel fic to Its a scent thing XD
> 
> Until then, enjoy the last half of the Quarantine au challenge fic as I use it as a reminder why I don't do challenges--bc they end up full length fics and not the "drabbles" they're supposed to be lol
> 
> More beautiful fanart!!: 
> 
> https://syntheticdelirium.tumblr.com/post/635642249691217920/more-for-thebeingofeverythings-and-they-were

Amaimon woke with a sharp exhale, agony in every cell that reformed around the blistered skin in his healing body.

His eyes detached from the skin blue flame had melted, and he opened them to see what had become of the crying nephilim who’d nearly incinerated him from existence.

Something was wrong. Amaimon scanned the body he rested on, flipping himself over when he regained function in his limbs to crawl forward.

The chest he crawled on rocked beneath his feet and Amaimon thought Rin had woken but, when he reached his face, he made no reaction like he was aware at all.

Choking gasps filled the room, loud to Amaimon’s senses as he took in the sweat joining the tear tracks on reddened cheeks. Tendons in Rin’s neck stood out in clear tension, his body convulsing under the burnt covers.

Rin’s convulsions stopped and he went still.

He wasn’t breathing.

Samael couldn’t possibly want Rin dead, not after he’d left Amaimon the message he had, not with the plans he weaved around Rin like a noose.

That decided it for Amaimon. He shifted in a cloud of smoke back to his human form as he propped Rin up, searching out the source of the blockage preventing him from getting air into his lungs.

A swelling in Rin’s throat gave Amaimon his answer and he held out his hand, already growing several plants he crushed in his palm. With his other hand, he pulled open Rin’s mouth to let the concentrated liquid of the various anti-inflammatories he’d grown trickle down the blocked esophagus.

Massaging at Rin’s throat to encourage the liquid to go down and very aware of the ticking clock between the last breath Rin might have taken didn’t make Amaimon’s motions any less sure.

Several more seconds passed as the boosted effects he’d incorporated into the plants brought the swelling down enough that he could restart Rin’s breathing.

His heart stayed steady as he compressed the still chest, ducking to force air into Rin's lungs.

It was enough. He sat back, licking at his lips as the demonic healing in Rin took over.

Life returned to Rin in increments as Amaimon watched him, silent and gaze set on the small signs that said the threat had passed.

Satisfied that Rin wouldn't be dying in the next five minutes, Amaimon grew more individual bundles of the plants, pressing the button to summon Samael's servant and waiting.

He ignored the widened eyes the servant couldn't hold back, surprise blatant before he covered it at Amaimon's command.

"Bring something to make hot water with," Amaimon said, waving the plants in a flippant gesture. "For tea. You'll make this for him when he wakes."

Job accomplished, Amaimon didn't bother waiting for confirmation as he vanished to track down Samael.

"I don't understand," he said the moment he formed in the space behind Samael.

"What?" Samael frowned at him, turning from his seated position at his desk. He'd been playing one of his handheld games but set it aside when Amaimon appeared. "I didn't expect you to grow bored of Rin so quickly. Decided he wasn't interesting?"

Light shivering went through Amaimon.

"No."

A deeper frown as Samael looked like he tried to guess Amaimon's mood.

"He almost died, you know," Amaimon started, moving closer and feeling his eyes flash with sharpened focus.

"Amaimon," Samael growled, "I left you with him with the understanding that you would play nice outside my direct supervision. Did you try to smother him in his sleep?"

Smother Rin? “No,” he said again, a purr fighting in his chest as he draped himself over the back of Samael’s chair. The narrow-eyed stare he got in return and slitting pupils said Samael watched him very closely. “Did you mean to break him when you delivered your message earlier?”

He’d been curious about that, it distressed Rin for reasons he suspected had to do with the confusing tears released during his initial introduction.

Those tears had led to a conclusion Amaimon wouldn’t have expected from any demon, let alone one he’d just met. Ideally he’d have more time to poke at Rin and see what other interesting things he might do, but he couldn’t do that if he died.

“Break him-ah, I see.” Samael began muttering to himself about human sickness and emotions and volatility in such situations but Amaimon moved on, shifting his tail free from his waist with a thought.

“His throat closed up and he stopped breathing,” Amaimon continued over Samael, scratching a claw at one of the grooves of the wooden chair. He saw Samael’s ear flick, knowing he’d picked up the light damage. “Don’t worry, I fixed it. He’s sleeping now.”

“Thank you, Amaimon,” came the gracious response. “So you’ll be keeping up your vigil, I take it?”

“Mmh,” Amaimon hummed, breath ghosting out to send the strands of Samael’s hair shifting across his face. “There’s more.”

Letting his fangs extend on his next words drew Samael’s focus to his mouth, a stillness prickling between them through the air.

“He wrapped me in his tail, Samael--let me sleep there,” Amaimon purred, tail falling from his shirt to coil in a slow glide over the arm of the chair. “Then he burned me alive.”

Even now, long healed, Amaimon remembered the searing heat. He arched his spine as if he could feel those flames again, hairs rising along with the shiver he didn’t bother suppressing.

“They're so weak compared to Father's,” he said in a wistful murmur, and flicked the end of his tail to brush Samael’s arm where he saw it rested taut beneath his suit. “Has he burned you yet? Have you felt his flames?”

“He tried,” Samael spoke with a rumbled undercurrent that added to the energy sparking in Amaimon.

“You should have let him,” Amaimon said, then made his move, fangs flashing as he captured Samael’s mouth in a biting kiss and tail winding around his wrist like a noose.

He’d just drawn first blood, lapping it from Samael and chasing more, when the arm his tail held flexed and yanked, startling a sharp cry from Amaimon at the pain coursing up his spine. Samael continued pulling him around until he had him in his lap, tail gripped just shy of agony as Amaimon arched back into his chest.

“I suppose you want my further thanks for keeping him alive,” Samael growled at the vulnerable artery in Amaimon’s throat.

What Amaimon _wanted_ was an outlet for the violence singing in his veins that Gehenna flame had woken in one burning moment. It led him reaching to grasp a fistful of Samael's hair, swallowing his snarled irritation and winning more blood free.

His other hand went to use Samael's thigh to get leverage so he could grind down onto the length he could feel hardening under the layers of their clothes.

Samael allowed him to control the pace, huffing pleased breaths between their lips and thumb pressing at the section of tail he held. Nerve endings spasmed at the pressure, Amaimon spreading his legs as he broke the kiss to pant through the assault.

"This isn't an _invitation_ to incite more flare-ups, Amaimon," Samael hissed in his ear, biting with his fangs extended and Amaimon thought he would tear the entire thing off, moaning as his hips stuttered at the threat.

"Do you understand?" Samael dug his thumb hard into his tail, unrelenting as a scream tore from Amaimon's throat.

" _Say it,_ Amaimon."

The pain wouldn't let him, his mouth gaped as he lost control of his rhythm, spine snapping back like an electric current ran through it and vision blurring on the sight of the ceiling.

" _Amaimon_."

"Yes!"

Samael's snarl, backed with cold power, ripped the promise from Amaimon and numbed his core.

His clothes vanished in a snap, tail dropped so Samael could spread and impale him with one brutal thrust.

On instinct, his tail lashed until it found Samael's waist, curling in a punishing coil so every movement between them brought waves of pain-pleasure.

Hands at his hips lifted him along the hot length inside him, dropping him to meet Samael when Amaimon couldn't do it on his own.

Scrabbling for purchase to regain control ended with a jerk as Samael seated himself fully, standing in the next moment and slamming Amaimon's face to his desk.

"Control those destructive claws of yours, Amaimon," Samael said in a dark rumble Amaimon felt through his back where a heated weight kept him pinned.

Their changed angle had Amaimon groaning into the wooden surface. Samael trapped his hands to either side of his head, pulling out in a teasing slide that had impatience gnawing at Amaimon’s nerves and a hiss escaping.

It turned into a shout as Samael snapped his hips forward and resumed his pace, the position giving him deeper access as Amaimon rocked back onto him, using his tail to keep him from retreating too far.

A glance of fangs at his shoulder had Amaimon curling his hands to fists, prevented from clawing at or bucking him off for the mimic of a claim by his greater aspect as he glared into the grin Samael wore.

Sweat stung his eyes, heat building every time Samael brushed that point inside him to shove his hips to the desk.

The fangs were joined by a tongue, Samael chasing the bloody lines he drew from Amaimon in bright stings of sensation before sinking in just as their hips met a final time and the heat pooling in his gut was filled by Samael’s release.

Amaimon’s eyes clenched shut on a cry, Samael dragging a tight fist over the base of his tail until he came across the desk he lay on, muscles twitching like he’d been shocked and grinding back against Samael to wring the last of the pleasure from his body.

“Satisfied?” Samael said, another tease Amaimon ignored to slump down, content as he loosened his tail to let it fall and rest at the back of his thigh next to where they were still joined.

Idle strokes began along where he knew one of the red lines of scales grew as Samael caressed the ridges, though if he kept it up Amaimon would keep him there. He purred at the ministrations, happy to lounge as long as Samael let him before he inevitably shooed him from the room.

Just as comfort verged into pleasure, Samael froze. Amaimon cracked an eye open, disgruntled, right in time to catch Samael's nose wrinkling.

He sneezed.

"Samael," Amaimon started in the silence after the sneeze faded, staring up at the peeved expression--like Samael was _insulted_. "Are you sick? Will I get sick?"

He searched for signs of rot in Samael’s vessel. He'd never been sick before. Would it be like what Rin was going through?

Sure enough, he caught hints of Astaroth eating at Samael.

"Yes," Samael said as he slid from Amaimon to flop back into his chair with a huff. "I've slowed the effects on myself, but everyone who's come into contact with Rin will come down with the virus. It's very inconvenient."

Had Samael wanted him to go back to Gehenna and spread the virus? Or had he been intending on keeping Amaimon quarantined too--or assumed Amaimon would stay of his own free will because of Rin.

In any case, Amaimon had made up his mind to stay. It would be less boring than falling ill in Gehenna and having to deal with fighting off any demons who thought they could take him just because he appeared weak.

Amaimon made up his mind, rolling onto his back and hopping off the desk to leave.

“Going back to Rin?”

“No,” Amaimon said in a shake of his head, “going to get food.”

“At least clean yourself before you go tracking all over the place.”

At Samael’s muttered complaint, Amaimon shrugged and complied, leaving him to whatever odd activity he’d been doing before his interruption.

* * *

Blue eyes surrounded by blue flames, _fear_ , where it had never existed before, a horrible squeal that wouldn't stop, piercing at his skull, and it sounded like every utterance of "demon" spat his way.

Rin opened burning eyes and tears slipped out.

He couldn't stop himself--didn't want to, when his dreams kept cycling through every mistake he'd ever made.

In the back of his mind, he registered that breathing wasn't as difficult as it had been the last few days, but it was secondary to his shame. If he looked, the evidence would still be there. Black charring over the bed he'd ruined, a body, the smell-

Confusion slowed his tears as Rin sniffed, then paused.

“My prince,” Belial said just as he turned from the pillow to stare around the room.

Cleaned sheets and a lack of burned anything greeted him while Belial waited at the foot of his bed. In his hands he held a glass of something steaming that smelled familiar, though Rin couldn’t place it.

“I’ve been instructed to give you this when you woke next. Please,” he said, moving to put the glass on the table and stepping back.

How long had he been there? Rin flushed, scrubbing at his eyes and sitting up as he cleared his throat.

"Uh," Rin started, stumbling over his thoughts as he shifted gears, unable to stop himself from saying, "the hamster that was here--I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to burn it."

Coal-dark eyes surveyed him, and Rin felt tears threatening in his own again, a heavy pressure dragging further at his heart.

Finally, when Rin thought Belial wouldn't say anything, those eyes lowered and he dipped his head.

"It's not my place to say," Belial said in that same steady voice, "but my understanding was you were brought here because the illness made you volatile and dangerous to others."

Pain cut at Rin, but it was true, so he nodded, fighting another sniffle because he hated feeling so pitiful in front of another person.

“Then it’s the responsibility of others to choose whether they accept that risk.”

“But,” Rin burst out, heart rate picking up as he tried to explain, “it wasn’t the hamster’s fault for being there!”

A hint of fang appeared as Belial bit his lip, eyelids shuttering like he was considering his words carefully. “If Sir Pheles did not want him here, he would not be here.”

Ok, maybe that was the case. Rin rubbed at his head as he unraveled Belial’s logic. It didn’t change that Rin had flared up and burnt a creature that couldn’t have been aware of the danger it was in. He could see that Belial didn’t understand, though, and he wasn’t sure how to explain the guilt he felt any better.

“Thanks, Belial, I feel a bit better,” Rin said anyway, grateful for the attempt at comfort, even if his heart gave a twinge just looking at the crisp, clean sheets.

"Your tea." Belial's nod drew Rin to the glass, and he took it, draining it despite the heat and tasting something familiar that pricked at his memory.

Rin did feel less miserable, a pleasant lack of the usual constriction in his throat easing his tension.

Something about Belial looked pleased as he bowed to leave before Rin made a sound to stop him, "Ah, wait, can you help me to Mephisto? I need to talk to him and I think I'm feeling ok to get out of bed a bit."

More like he needed to get out of bed or he'd go insane from the boredom.

When Belial hesitated, scanning him in a way that he knew meant he didn't quite believe Rin, he waved a hand and hurried to be more convincing.

"Don't worry! If it looks like I'm about to pass out again I'll head back, I just can't stay in this bed all day. Please," he ended on a plea, one step from begging if it would get Belial to agree to take him from the room.

What Rin swore was a mix between "what's the worst that could happen," and "in for a penny, in for a pound," crossed Belial's face a second before he breathed a long sigh and agreed.

Yes! Rin thanked him again as he sat up, taking the outheld arm to finally escape his room.

Despite the nature of the conversation he was going to have, his excitement just being awake enough to make his slow way down the hall boosted his mood.

Hallways branched in a maze through the extravagant home that seemed to go on forever. Rin’s head hurt just thinking about the size of the home, apparently all for one demon and his servant. Unless there were more servants or people and they’d just been out of sight until then, but Rin couldn’t see or smell any signs that hinted at that being the case.

It was lonely.

Belial kept him steady, arm a firm support Rin tried not to cling to as his legs trembled the longer they walked.

“Did he pick the farthest room from me or something?” Rin grumbled, huffing and hoping it didn’t sound too much like he struggled to breathe.

“We’re here,” Belial said instead of acknowledging Rin’s complaint.

He knocked at a door and Rin heard a muffled call for them to enter.

The door opened to reveal an office and what Rin thought might be the sounds of eating. Scent reached him next and the ghost of hunger pricked at Rin’s attention as Belial led him inside.

“Oh, Rin,” Mephisto glanced up from a cheap container of instant noodles where he sat at his desk, “you’re well enough to make it here?”

To his side on the desk, surrounded by empty noodle cups and inhaling its way through another was…

“Alive,” the word rasped from Rin’s mouth, eyes wide and searching for some kind of trick.

“Hm?” Mephisto hummed, blinking, then tracking Rin’s gaze to the destination.

“Ah.”

“It's alive!” Rin cried out, breaking from Belial’s hold to stumble to the desk where the green hamster he vividly remembered burning to a blackened corpse ate noodles like nothing had happened, though it stopped when Rin reached the desk.

A noodle slurped into the hamster’s cheek-pouch and its bright little eyes watched as Rin fought the immediate urge to bring it into his hands, or leave it because it might be afraid of him too, now.

“Yes, he’s perfectly fine, Rin,” Mephisto said as Rin set a trembling hand to the desk near the hamster to allow it to come to him--if he hadn’t scared it away forever.

Rin held his breath as the hamster twitched its nose, eyes going to Mephisto before it made its mind up. Small legs carried the hamster over to Rin as it placed itself in his palm while sheer relief burst from Rin's lungs and out with his exhale.

“I’m sorry,” Rin began, voice cracking as he tucked the hamster to his neck, cradling it and running a finger down the soft fur to replace the memory of charcoal from his mind. “I didn’t mean to burn you.”

Something tickled at his throat and Rin realized the hamster had licked him, laughing in semi-incredulity and pressing his nose to inhale the hamster’s scent.

Coughing took him from the petting he’d started up and Rin turned to see Mephisto smiling, though one of his fangs peeked from his lips to make it look strained.

“Yes, well, what can I help you with, Rin?”

“Wait,” Rin cut in, patting a finger to the hamster, “how is the hamster still alive? I burned it!”

His interruption got a twitch of Mephisto’s brows, but Rin didn’t budge. He might have been completely out of it the past few days but he knew what he’d done.

“He is a demon, so he healed,” Mephisto finally answered, tapping a finger to the table and leaning back in his chair as if his answer was obvious.

“Oh.” Right, the green color should have given it away, nevermind the little spike on his head.

“Anything else?” Why did Mephisto sound so short? His gaze didn’t move from where Rin kept the hamster cupped to his throat, letting it nestle there where he felt the occasional brush of a tongue.

“No, I just-I came here to apologize about what I did,” Rin said and dug his toes into the carpet, ears heating at his actions. "Sorry. I'll go."

"Rest well, Rin."

When Rin made to let the hamster back on the desk, it latched its small hands to his finger and flicked an ear, something he took to mean it wanted to stay.

One hamster tucked to his neck, Rin returned to Belial's side and accepted the arm he raised.

What felt like a burning gaze weighed at his back until the door closed and cut it off. Then it was just the long walk back to his room. Despite not having done anything besides walk, Rin could feel the exhaustion eating at him, leading him to lean on Belial as fine tremors went through his limbs.

By the time they made it to the room, dizziness had Rin swaying. Sweat cooled his overheated skin and Rin made a split-second decision as he was led to the bed.

"Ah wait. Can I have another shower?" Rin said, the need to cool down and get clean before he ended up between sweltering covers overruling the awkwardness of asking for a shower.

"Yes, my prince."

"You don't need to-" Rin tried, though he didn't get a chance to finish as Belial directed him to the bathroom.

A brush of delicate claws to his cheek reminded Rin of his passenger, so he sighed, reaching up to move the hamster with an apology.

"Sorry, I'll try to be quick," he said as he let him down on the sink counter near the shower as Belial prepared it.

He managed to undress himself this time, happy that at least he wasn't as tired as he'd been before, though he still had to sit on the shower seat.

Sighing into the steam, Rin tilted his head back, letting the hot water work its magic.

At his feet, his tail trailed through the water in a lazy pattern, though when Rin looked down at it, a frown pulled at his lips.

Raising it to inspect only clarified the problem.

"Hey, do you have any like, scissors or something?" Rin turned to Belial with his question, holding the end of his tail to indicate the completely knotted mess it had become.

"Scissors, my prince?" Belial said, sounding faint as his eyes locked onto Rin's tail. The pupils had begun doing that slivering thing Rin noticed the last time and his professional appearance looked skewed for a reason Rin couldn't place.

"Yeah, there's no way I'm gonna brush this mess so I'm just gonna cut it all off."

" _No,_ " the answer was immediate, mask completely ripped free like the word from Belial, replaced by what Rin recognized as _appalled_ after the many times he'd inspired it in Yukio.

"What?" Rin cocked his head, blinking down at his tail as he tried to figure out where the reaction was coming from.

Squeaking showed him the hamster having fallen into one of the sink bowls, scrabbling its way out with its fur ruffled, but as Rin wondered if he should go make sure it was okay, Belial pulled him back.

"Apologies, my prince," Belial said, sinking to his knees and baring his throat, "it's not my place."

"Er, not your place?" Rin said slowly, taken aback by the display, "I don't get it."

"Please," Belial still hadn't moved from his position, ears flattened to his skull like he was afraid. "Allow me to help you."

Help him? Glancing at his tail, Rin shrugged. "If you can get the knots out, sure, I don't mind."

The shower felt nice, and it wasn't like Rin was in a rush to go anywhere. So if Belial wanted to get through the matted mess his tail had turned into, then Rin wouldn't be complaining.

Belial sighed as if relieved and rolled up his sleeves, though his hands shook before he got them under control, moving with a slow kind of care to the shampoo he'd dropped when he'd kneeled.

"I've only had this thing for a week, so I didn't know it was such a big deal," Rin said as he handed his tail over, waiting for the discomfort that would come from tugging through knots. It was bad enough combing his own regular hair from the bedhead he always woke up with, let alone actual fur on a tail.

More coughing from Belial, his brows pinching on his face as if Rin’s words pained him--another expression Rin was used to getting from Yukio--as he accepted Rin’s tail. His voice came out tight when he spoke, “Yes, it’s a-it’s very important, my prince.”

He caught a glimpse of the hamster from the corner of his eye. It had flattened out on the edge of the sink, ears drooping and little claws outstretched like it reached for Rin but had given up half-way.

Trying to figure out what the little guy’s deal was distracted Rin from Belial squeezing the shampoo on his tail.

It didn’t distract him when Belial began massaging the soap into his fur.

Rin jolted on his seat, breath freezing as the signals coming from his tail told him one thing his mind refused to translate.

As if from outside his body, Rin looked at where clawed fingers parted the tangles at the end of his tail so the soap would wash out. Every time Belial pressed, another wave went through the nerves at the tip, trailed up the length of it, straight to his-

Oh god.

His lips pressed around a whimper, unable to stop watching the way Belial opened the next bottle to dribble a generous amount onto his palm. As if in slow motion, he swept the conditioner through Rin’s tail, closing his hand to start massaging again.

Pleasure tingled in waves with each pass of Belial’s fingers, almost like getting a scalp massage but infinitely worse because Rin was naked in a shower and he _hadn’t used a towel this_ _time._

Mortification stiffened Rin’s limbs, elbows locked in place and jerking his gaze to anywhere but what he’d gotten himself into.

If he told Belial to stop, then he’d have to admit _why._

The soft pleasure changed in the next instant when Belial used his claws to work at the knots, sparks of pain somehow _worse_ than before, as Rin’s toes curled under his seat into the warm water and he couldn’t avoid reality anymore.

He was getting turned on by Belial messing with his tail.

Was this some kind of nightmare?

It was _definitely_ some new depth of hell Rin had reached. There was no way to escape notice if he tried to cover himself, that would just bring more attention to the problem. Rin’s mind jumped from solution to solution, each more impossible than the last and only worsening things as another prickle of sparks stung along his nerves.

There wasn’t that much fur, so maybe he could just wait things out.

Just wait it out.

Belial tugged a knot. Hard. Rin’s eyes shot open and heat went straight down as he sucked in a sharp breath.

Fire flared.

Snapping his head around, Rin saw the tip of his tail burst into flame, catching Belial’s hands before he could warn him or stop in time.

“ _Hng,_ ” Belial uttered a muffled grunt that trailed into a low moan of what sounded like pain as he dropped to his knees, pupils dilated in his eyes and locked on the blue flames as he cradled his hands to his chest.

Dazed and glancing to stare at the ruined skin, Belial lifted his hands to his lips, shuddering where he kneeled and panting in ragged breaths. It looked agonizing, red muscle revealed under a blistered, blackened layer that began to heal before Rin’s eyes.

“I’m sorry!” Rin gasped for what felt like the millionth time, previous mood gone as he was faced with the results of his lack of control.

“Are you okay?” he said, leaning forward and heart pounding when glazed eyes met him as Belial tilted his head from his hands like he didn’t register Rin’s words.

Fangs glinted from Belial’s mouth as he drew in a slow breath, another, steadying himself under Rin’s concern. The wedges they’d become vanished, a blink, and his pupils contracted to their usual size, ears sliding from the extended points they’d grown to until he wrapped the professional gauze around himself again.

“It’s nothing-” Belial began, voice guttural and verging on a growl before he sucked in a last harsh breath and continued- “to be concerned about, my prince.”

As if to make his point, already the skin had healed over the worst of the exposed layers of tissue.

Rin's heart refused to slow after the jolt of adrenaline, and he sat back, biting the inside of his mouth to force himself to calm down.

"I'm going to finish on my own," Rin made the decision in between thuds of his heart, vaguely aware of Belial pausing before bowing and leaving without another word.

All Rin's attention narrowed in on the shivering tail on the floor of the shower.

The conditioner that had been in it had already washed out. He'd have to use more if he was going to finish with the knots.

A feeling like someone else controlled his body took over in Rin. He blamed it on the sickness still making everything hazy in his head for the way his hands shook when he poured more conditioner.

Then just…

" _Ha,_ " the soft breath passed from his mouth, eyelids shuttering as Rin thumbed the fur from the tip of his tail.

He just had to use his-use his claws to work through his fur.

Tugging with his claws sent Rin gasping, pulse picking up faster with the electric pleasure winding through his veins. Water hissed into steam where it touched his skin, but Rin couldn’t bring himself to focus on it.

"Holy shit," he mumbled, unable to believe what he was doing as he gave up the pretense and wrapped his hand around his tail.

His other hand moved to palm himself, hips twitching at the sensations pressing in on both ends.

Silent moans began to pant out of him as Rin thrust his tail through the hole he'd created with his fingers, losing any hint of a rhythm as he bucked into his hand.

What if he…

Not thinking beyond the impulse, Rin pulled his tail to his mouth, tonguing the fur aside and sucking.

" _Mmf!_ " Rin came, fur muffling his moan as he rode out his release in desperate jerks of his hand and tongue running in erratic twists over his tail.

Water trickled past his ears, the sound loud without the rushing blood filling them while Rin sat in the billowing steam. His body temperature had risen enough to evaporate the water so that the whole bathroom had shrouded in steam by then.

Despite being alone, Rin flushed at his own actions, hurriedly swiping himself clean as he took his tail from his mouth. Spitting at the strands of fur that had caught around his fangs only deepened Rin’s embarrassment and he moved to pick them from between his teeth, glaring at the source of all his current problems.

The damn thing was clean now, at least. Some knots still matted parts of it, but Rin refused to look at those. He’d deal with them _later._

Now, he just had to make it from the shower and back to bed, something made more difficult by the renewed dizziness stealing strength from his limbs. Rin would not be calling for help right then, he needed to sleep and leave everything that had happened for the morning.

Rin flicked his tail in an irritated splash of water as he forced himself up, wavering forward to use the wall as a prop until the room stopped spinning and he could turn off the shower.

When he got to the sink, Rin remembered one very important thing.

“Uh,” he started, staring at the vacant countertop in search of the hamster. Had it left with Belial? Had it fallen off somewhere to the floor? A quick glance didn’t reveal any sign of green fur and Rin didn’t think he was up for checking beneath the counter or he might not actually be able to rise again. He shrugged, calling it quits for the moment.

Toweling himself off became an exercise in not giving into the exhaustion until Rin deemed himself dry enough and cracked open the door.

No one. It was empty, just another cup of tea steaming on his nightstand and bed perfectly made, his clothes folded in a neat pile on top. Even just getting his sweatpants on took the rest of Rin’s energy as he flopped into bed, knocked out before his head reached the pillow.

* * *

“Samael,” Amaimon hissed as he appeared back in the office. His tail lashed beneath his clothes and his fangs ached in his mouth.

“ _Mephisto_ , dear Amaimon, it’s Mephisto currently,” Samael said in a sigh as he looked up from whatever new human activity he’d moved onto in the hour Amaimon had suffered. “And what’s got you riled up now?”

Stalking up to the desk and forcing back the urge to shake the earth, Amaimon slapped his palms to the surface. He ignored the narrowed eyes that said Samael would be upset if he damaged his desk to snarl, “His tail! _Mephisto._ ”

“Yes what about his tail?” Samael had the nerve to roll his eyes at Amaimon, clearly not understanding the severity of his complaint. “He’s got one, just as we all do. Or did you lose yours at some point between yesterday and today?”

Amaimon leaned over the desk, deliberately entering Samael's space and prompting a stilling in his body. Good, this was _important._

"He wanted another shower, Samael," Amaimon stressed, claws clacking to the desk, "He asked that servant of yours to get him scissors."

That got Samael to pause, brows furrowing. "He wasn't-of course he would."

"He allowed your servant to comb the knots out instead of cutting them off," Amaimon continued with a purr that was half-frustration, half-desire. It looked like Samael finally understood what he meant. "Then he burned him, _Samael._ "

In his mind, Amaimon replayed the blue bursting to existence between the shower stream, searing both water and delicate flesh and cut off _far_ too soon.

But, instead of the anticipated reaction such a scene like the one he’d witnessed should have drawn from Samael, all Amaimon got for his efforts was a long breath through Samael’s nose and his eyes closing.

“So he's discovered one of the joys of having a tail," he said in a flat tone that had a frown forming on Amaimon, deepening at the empty stare from Samael. "Has he gotten back to sleep now?"

"Yes," Amaimon said, head cocking as he appraised the skin that spread tight over Samael's skull and the pulse jumping in a vein there. "Samael, you're sick."

"Excellent deduction, Amaimon," Samael said in a bright voice clearly meant to mock, which meant he wasn't putting the effort he normally would into his masks. "Unless you have a fast acting cure for Astaroth's delightful gift, then it's useless to me."

He was _really_ irritated. Amaimon bit at his clawed thumb, wondering where he would get if he pressed.

"Before you test me, Amaimon," Samael's hard growl stopped him in his tracks, "know that I am not in the mood."

"Boring," Amaimon said with a scowl, arms dropping as he searched his mind for another outlet.

Samael waved a hand at the door. "If you're so wound up, go take it out on Belial. You may punish him for his little initiative earlier but don't destroy his vessel."

It was better than nothing. Amaimon already turned away, intent on searching out his next plaything.

* * *

Rin stared at the wall, counting whatever caught his eye. Ceiling beams, light fixtures, folds in the curtains.

He was bored. So. Bored.

His phone had entertained him for exactly five minutes before he’d flung it back to the bed in a huff and went back to laying in silence.

The hamster hadn’t shown up yet and Rin was too awake to sleep so soon. He’d also already gone through the tea and not only had his stomach not rebelled like those first few days, but his sense of smell had returned.

That had to mean his hunger would come back any day, right?

Scratching at his blanket amused Rin for the second it took to accidentally dig out a thread, pressing it down like he could fix it before giving up and making a decision.

“He’s gotta have something for me to do around here, this place is huge,” Rin said to himself as he shuffled from the room, not bothering to neaten his appearance because he was sick, dammit.

Weakness in his body meant his path stayed slow, but Rin thought he remembered the way to Mephisto’s office. He wandered, sniffing more of the dead air and grumbling when it offered zero hints to where he was supposed to go.

Ok, never mind, he was lost. Another long hallway greeted Rin as he turned a corner and he sighed.

Inhaling in a long breath to release the frustration stopped his inner tirade he'd begun.

Something smelled really good. It was at the edges of his senses, but a salty scent like broth and cooked meat called Rin to keep going. Even if it wasn't to where he needed to go, with luck he'd find Belial, who could take him to where he wanted to be.

Poofing in the otherwise silent hallway twisted Rin's gaze around.

"Uh," he said, hand going to rub at his eyes, "you weren't there a second ago."

The hamster sat cleaning itself in the middle of the carpeted hallway, running up to Rin when he crouched in a careful movement and held out his palm.

"I don't know how you got here but I'm glad I'm not alone now, at least," he started talking, despite knowing he wouldn't get a response back. "I was trying to find Mephisto's office but I got lost and something smells real good somewhere around here, so I figured I'd go find out what it is."

Rambling as he walked took his mind off the strain he was beginning to feel, focused on petting the hamster and the smell he could tell was getting stronger until a door blocked his path.

"This must be it." Rin said to himself, opening the door and peering in.

Darkness met him and he blinked, squinting until his eyes adjusted.

"Yes, Rin, can I help you?"

"Mephisto?" Rin moved into the room, then his gaze caught on the centerpiece inside and he forgot Mephisto.

"Holy shit, that's a lot of games," he said as he gaped at the entire wall of shelves that looked like they should have been for books but definitely weren't used for them now.

In the center of it all, a massive screen took up the rest of his attention, flashing lights blinding Rin as whatever game was loaded played across it.

"Yes, one of life's little pleasures," Mephisto spoke up from his prone position sprawled over a bean bag chair on the floor. "Truly, man's greatest invention."

"I guess," Rin tried to understand how video games were the pinnacle of human achievement and gave up, "Is this what you do all day?"

Sitting in the dark, playing video games and--Rin sniffed, looking to see the source of the smell he’d followed--eating instant noodles?

“If you’re going to be rude, you can leave,” Mephisto said, glaring from the corner of his eyes as Rin ignored him to drop to the floor at his side and make himself comfortable.

“I’m bored,” Rin said to the stare from Mephisto, seeing his brows draw together like the words pained him to hear.

“Another one, I see." Mephisto's words didn't make sense to Rin, so he ignored them, too.

"Here." Rin blinked as a second controller poofed into existence in his hands. "You can at least make yourself useful and help me finish this level."

Well, it was better than nothing. Rin tucked his legs, tail wagging across the carpet as he listened to Mephisto explain the controls. The hamster nestled further to Rin's neck, content there.

"How come there's no one here?" Rin asked midway through the pool of monsters they were supposed to eliminate next. "This place is huge but I don't smell anyone else around."

"Well, for one, you’re a walking contagion, so I had to send all of the staff but for Belial away," Mephisto reminded him, lips quirking in a grin at Rin's pout. "And for two, why would I want others mucking around my territory?"

“Territory?” Rin eyed him, “What are you, some kinda dog?”

A clawed finger flicked at his ear and Rin yelped, rubbing his head to his shoulder to erase the feeling while Mephisto continued.

“Demon, Rin, not a dog, and I don’t like others getting their grubby paws all over my stuff.”

That had Rin snickering to Mephisto’s clear confusion as he clarified it for him, “So you never learned to share, gotcha.”

Mephisto’s grumbled “brat” lightened Rin’s mood, the surprising ease of the conversation and companionship refreshing after nearly a week of almost nothing. Not that he hadn’t enjoyed the bits he’d managed to get from Belial and the comfort he got from the hamster, but it wasn’t the same as sitting and playing a game with another person, actual communication.

Scuttling over his shoulder alerted him to the hamster making its way to his head where, after a minute of searching, it found a new spot to settle. Rin smiled, content in the dark room as he focused on the game.

At some point, Rin tired, his eyes taking longer to open between blinks and the carpeted floor making more and more sense to pass out on. He'd shifted to lay on his stomach earlier and it made it harder to stay awake.

His head felt heavy where he held it as he yawned, curling up on his side with his tail draping over the bean bag chair at his back.

He gave up fighting sleep.

* * *

Amaimon poofed back to his human form, dumbfounded.

"Samael," he started, then trailed off, unsure what he could even say to the sight.

"It's Mephisto, and if you forget again I'm going to banish you, Amaimon," Mephisto said in an absent response, just as focused on the sight.

The black tail Rin hadn't bothered to hide coiled in a firm twist around Mephisto's arm, furred end flicking in his sleep. He'd fallen into a loose curl at Mephisto's side as if he _trusted_ him while he was vulnerable.

Though, now that Amaimon thought about it, he'd done the same with him, one of the initial actions about Rin that had interested him and kept him around.

"What is wrong with him?" Amaimon finally said, crouching to poke a claw to Rin's cheek and, instead of getting an aggressive attack, got a harmless wiggle of his nose.

"He knows nothing will happen to him here," Mephisto murmured, eyelids shuttered and gaze on where Rin still captured his arm.

At the heart of Samael's territory? Amaimon supposed he was right. There wasn't any place safer for Father's spawn than right where he was.

"Well, time to put this errant demon back to bed," Mephisto said as he rose in a way that didn't tug Rin’s tail, and gathered him into his arms.

His mood had improved, something Amaimon had noticed happening over the course of their game the longer they played. He'd covered the extent of his illness well.

They vanished to Rin's room and Amaimon watched like he had the other times as Mephisto set him beneath the covers. Another careful maneuver won his arm free from the black tail that shifted to twist around Rin when it lost its source of heat.

"It looks like he's well enough to go exploring," Mephisto huffed a sigh out as if Rin being mobile was an inconvenience. "Hunger should follow, I'll have to have Belial…"

He continued muttering to himself, Amaimon losing interest as they left Rin to sleep.

With luck, Rin's new energy would provide him entertainment.

* * *

"I think I'm starting to get hungry," Rin said, smiling at the hamster as they walked down the hall together, "and I only feel half as miserable as before."

It was true. The aches and pains still pressed at him and made it slow going whenever he tried to get anywhere, and his nose refused to unstuff itself, but the exhaustion had lessened and his splitting headache was just a dull throbbing.

So, better.

But it also meant that his stomach was losing some of that queasy numbness and asking for food. There was only so much tea he could drink in the meantime before he started getting sick of it--not that he’d stop drinking it anytime soon or risk not breathing again.

Instant noodles sounded perfect right then.

He could have asked Belial, but Rin had a suspicion that Mephisto had a stash on hand and he wasn't above taking his if it got him out of his room.

By now, Rin had been able to drop both the stack of schoolwork on his nightstand and lack of texts after the first one into the bottom of his mind by repeatedly telling himself that Yukio was just busy taking care of everyone else at home.

The rest of his mood he'd erase when he made it to wherever Mephisto was currently hiding.

His sense of smell had improved enough that Rin could breathe out of one nose, following the trail he'd taken the day before until he found the game room.

No dice. It lay empty and dark, so Rin shrugged and moved on. The problem was Mephisto couldn't seem to walk anywhere like a normal person, so while the whole place smelled like him, there wasn't any real trail to trace.

"Bastard," Rin huffed to himself, "where is he?"

Tugging at his hair alerted him to the hamster as it pointed down a hallway he'd been about to pass.

"Hah, thanks," Rin said, pressing a kiss to a furry cheek, "I should have asked you sooner!"

Though considering Rin hadn't been aware a hamster could give directions until a few days ago kept him from beating himself up about it.

Three more turns brought Rin to a wide entryway and…

"Oh my god, is this his kitchen," Rin breathed, eyes darting over all the big, shiny appliances and massive fridge. The pantry alone might have fit his bedroom!

At the center of it all sat Mephisto, working his way through something unidentifiable that Rin tentatively labeled "everything but the kitchen sink."

"Managed to find your way here, too, Rin?"

"Yeah," Rin grinned as he slipped into the stool across from Mephisto at the kitchen island, "I'm hungry."

Mephisto tore off a piece of...something, Rin wasn't sure what, and said, "And you came here instead of calling Belial because?"

"Because I'm bored," Rin sniped back, smirking at the exasperation his reasoning caused and reaching to snag what he thought might be bread soaked in _something_ from Mephisto's pile.

"I wouldn't~"

Rin bit into it, then immediately spat it back out to Mephisto's own smug expression as he fanned his tongue. It had cleared his sinuses in _one bite._

"Dammit, what is that? Why's it so hot?" Rin moaned around his burning mouth.

" _That_ is how I keep greedy claws away from my food," Mephisto said as he ate a piece of the same thing Rin had tried like it didn't bother him at all. Just a shiver of contentment as he rolled his shoulders.

“Fine, then I want instant noodles,” Rin said with a stab of his finger at Mephisto once he could breathe without it feeling like literal flames were coming out.

Rin’s demand got him a casual motion from Mephisto to the pantry, so Rin hauled himself off the chair to go explore his options.

“I’m sick and you’re the worst caretaker I’ve ever seen,” he called from the pantry after marveling at the rows he’d need a chair to reach the tops of. A chair, or Rin would have to be as tall as Mephisto.

“If you’re well enough to be out of bed, you’re well enough to boil water,” Mephisto called back in a sing-song voice, making Rin laugh under his breath as he grabbed one of the styrofoam cups and retreated.

“Thanks for the meal,” Rin said in another pointed jab at Mephisto when his noodles were ready.

“Ah, wait, you should have something too.” He nudged the hamster that had been hiding in his collar up until then, though it perked up the second he mentioned it.

“Here.” Rin brought the noodles to his shoulder where little claws accepted them. A tongue swept at his fingers after it finished and Rin laughed at the tickle it caused. “You should probably eat before I do so you don’t catch whatever I have.”

Unable to resist, Rin pressed another kiss to the hamster and fed him more from his bowl. He'd probably only be able to finish the broth, anyway.

Sniffling distracted Rin as he looked up to see Mephisto scowling into a decorative handkerchief like it had personally offended him in some way.

"Hah! So it is too hot for you," Rin crowed in vindication.

"No-" Mephisto's nose wrinkled and his brows pinched.

Then he sneezed.

Lights flickered in the kitchen and Rin's stomach dropped like he'd gone over the edge of a rollercoaster.

Gravity reasserted itself as Mephisto blew his nose into the handkerchief and glared at Rin as if daring him to say something.

"You're sick!"

Not that Mephisto's glare stopped Rin from blurting out his revelation.

"Yes," Mephisto said like it pained him to admit, grudging while he went back to eating like nothing had happened.

"Will you get as bad as me?" Rin couldn't help asking, a sudden bout of guilt pricking at his mood.

"It's likely, yes."

Despite the nonchalance Mephisto carried in his confirmation, Rin still remembered the hell he'd just experienced and winced.

“Ah!” Rin brightened at a thought, “You can just drink that tea I’ve been having every day, it helps with the breathing problem.”

For some reason he couldn’t understand, his words made Mephisto’s scowl deepen, though at his questioning hum, the pointed glare directed somewhere at Rin’s shoulder vanished, replaced by the teasing Rin was becoming increasingly familiar with.

“Why Rin, are you offering to become my caretaker? Will you tuck me into bed and check my temperature?” He leered at Rin, making him choke on the broth he’d been draining from the bowl.

“Bastard,” Rin sputtered until he could breathe again, “I was trying to be nice. Maybe I won’t help you out when you’re miserable in bed and can’t even play games.”

"I'm heartbroken." Mephisto didn't look like he even knew the definition of heartbroken.

“Whatever, anything I did would be better than you,” he said, past worrying about Mephisto’s feelings and returning to his soup.

Bothering Mephisto and getting food was exactly what Rin needed from the day, content as he left the kitchen.

Rin had found his entertainment for the however long he had until he recovered.

* * *

"Thanks, Belial," Rin chirped as he trailed behind him to Mephisto's bedroom. The newest place he’d hidden himself after giving up the pretense of not being sick.

He'd woken up with the usual aches and pains but more energy, deciding to make good on his promise to bug Mephisto and roping Belial into helping.

Wide doors opened when they reached their destination to reveal a dark room, only lit by what Rin identified as nightlights in various corners. He squinted at them, trying to place what was so weird.

Then he blinked. “Uh.”

“You’re letting the light in,” Mephisto growled.

Big bug eyes stared up at Rin from the nightlights belonging to anime characters he recognized from the comic shops. Rin looked up, mouth parted to question Mephisto about his taste in lighting and saw the rest of the room.

“You’re an otaku!” Rin said in revelation, staring at the plushies, body pillows, figurines, and brightly colored things hemming him in on all sides.

At the center of the madness Mephisto winced. His hair stuck out in disarray and wrinkles between his eyes spoke of a headache.

“Yes, I love the culture and samurai spirit--shut the door,” he hissed to Belial, who complied with a lack of expression that said he was used to the hissed orders.

“Samurai spirit, huh.” Rin’s lips twitched in a smile until he saw the pathetic sight Mephisto made amongst the mound of pillows and plushies. “You look miserable, guess it hit you pretty hard overnight.”

The sigh from Mephisto was long-suffering as he answered, “Yes, I stopped pausing the spread of the virus, so it’s taken over with a vengeance. Very like Astaroth, in fact.”

"Right, well I brought Belial and he brought tea," Rin said, thumb pointing to indicate the tea in Belial's hold that he placed on the nightstand at Mephisto's waved directive.

"...Thank you," Mephisto eventually said like it pained him, but it was enough for Rin.

He went to the bed and, before Mephisto could ask Rin what he was doing like he clearly wanted to, pressed the back of his hand to his forehead.

"Oh yeah, that's a fever," Rin said, fighting a grin at the startled look on Mephisto's face. He lost the battle as Mephisto went cross-eyed when he tapped his nail between his brows. “You should get an ice pack on that, it’s what helped me.”

Green eyes and slivered pupils tracked Rin as he rambled, “It’s too bad I shoot fire outta my hands, ice powers would have been way more convenient for this.”

“You probably want to sleep,” he finished, brushing the rest of the bedraggled bangs aside and pulling away with a last pat to the base of that weird curl of hair Mephisto had. “I’m gonna go find the hamster and raid your kitchen.”

Rin made it to the door, glancing back and pausing.

The curl on Mephisto's head drooped, hands in a loose clasp around the tea and looking lost somehow where he peered up at Rin.

"Or," Rin drew the word out and tried not to laugh at the way Mephisto perked up, ears twitching like they tuned to his voice. "I could stay here until you knocked out, since I've got nothing else to do."

Like dealing with a feral cat, Rin couldn't help but think as Mephisto gave a slow nod.

"Your brother might have something to say about the pile of books collecting dust in your room." Mephisto's dry words would have made Rin flinch if he hadn't already happily shoved the books under his bed and forgotten their existence.

Besides, he was _living_ with three demons, that had to count for way more than reading books about them--and he was a half demon, so he could just study himself!

Both points he would bring up to Yukio when he had to think about it later.

Curling up in the overstuffed chair at the bedside, Rin settled in to wait. Judging by the glare Mephisto shot the tea once Belial left them, he'd be dealing with the worst patient, or at least the grumpiest.

Though with the way Mephisto's eyelids dropped, he wouldn't be waiting too long.

Mephisto shoved his face to the ice pack he'd gotten on the pillow, one green eye visible beneath his mussed bangs. He seemed to track Rin while he played mindless games on his phone, like he didn't trust him not to mess with him in his sleep.

He lost the fight, though Rin let a few more minutes pass until he was sure, then eased himself from the chair and left to go find the hamster.

The next time Mephisto woke, Rin greeted him with a muffled sound and a wave of his fingers around the chopsticks he used to work at the noodles. Fangs peeked from Mephisto's opened mouth but nothing made it out, and Rin wondered if he'd confused him by being there.

His confusion vanished, Mephisto's eyes widening as he snapped to bring a bucket out and heaved into it.

"Yeah, that’s familiar," Rin said, reaching to rub Mephisto's back. "I don't know what's worse, this or the headaches."

"This," Mephisto gasped when he could, "is infinitely worse."

Probably. Rin’s days with his headache had sucked but it was better than the earlier nausea turning his stomach.

“What are you doing here?” The question took Rin from his memories over to a slightly more recovered Mephisto.

“Don’t you remember?” Rin leaned in, grinning wide enough to expose his fangs, “Tucking you into bed and checking your temperature.”

So saying, he fixed Mephisto’s bangs again, giving him a view of the baffled and cagey expression staring out from under them until he’d cleared the strands away.

"Do you want another ice pack?" Rin asked as he brought his hand back from the fever burning at Mephisto's skin.

Another slow nod. Mephisto seemed to be calculating something behind his eyes that Rin didn't bother trying to decode. Instead, he reached to press the button to summon Belial before returning to finish his noodles.

"And," Mephisto began in a testing way that had Rin pausing over his noodles, "you're going to keep this up, Ri-"

His words cut off, nose wrinkling in what Rin recognized as another sneeze.

"Ah-" Mephisto's eyes widened and he sneezed.

In a blink, Rin's world upended itself. Pressure welled like a giant hand, picking him up and flinging him back into the far wall before he could breathe a cry at the lashing power. He landed with a crack he couldn’t tell was part of him or the wall he’d impacted. A distant sound that was probably his noodles hitting another wall registered.

“Oww,” Rin groaned, chest aching in deep throbs as he wondered if he’d actually fractured ribs or it was just his body being both sick _and_ physically battered.

His nose twitched, tingling turned into itching.

Rin sneezed.

Blue erupted into the dark room from the flames as he flopped down in a heap from the jack-knife his sneeze had throne him into.

The last of the cinders dispersed in soft hisses while Rin’s eyes adjusted to meet the ones staring at him from the bed. Silence followed as he processed the sequence of events, nose running and threatening another sneeze he stifled out of sheer disbelief.

“Ha...haha.” Rin began to giggle.

A smile spread in a slow widening until it crossed Mephisto’s face, lines creasing his cheeks and crinkling the corners of his eyes.

He laughed, joining Rin in falling despite the pain in their bodies.

"I'm still coming back, dammit," he said when he could, breaking into more laughter when Mephisto did.

Sound at the door pulled Rin's attention to see Belial, blank expression somehow getting across his stupefaction perfectly.

Grinning, Rin sat up with a wince and moved to right the chair Mephisto had knocked over so he could drop into it. "Sorry, he needs an ice pack and something to clean the noodles off the ground--also it looks like some tissues too, now."

His nose gave a warning itch. "Actually, you should probably bring enough tissues for both of us."

Calling a thanks to Belial's retreating form, Rin got comfortable.

Mephisto didn't ask him again why he stayed.

* * *

Blue flared in a bright pillar.

"Oh god," Rin sniffled as he stared up at the ceiling on his bed, "again?"

What he'd thought was a sympathy sneeze to go with Mephisto's turned out to be the next wave of the virus. Everything seemed dried out and itchy, his eyes burning even when the sneeze brought tears to them and made his nose run.

And he kept sneezing blue flames.

In his lap, the hamster pinned it's gaze to the last flickers of fire, embers reflecting in its eyes. Rin had almost burnt him but had pulled him out of range just in time.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Rin smiled and patted the hamster. "That was close. I'm glad I didn't get you. I don't wanna accidentally burn you again."

Now the hamster just looked like it pouted, though Rin couldn't say how a hamster possibly did that.

He'd taken to spending the next few days exploring the mansion, playing video games on the handheld console Mephisto let him use, and bothering Mephisto.

Mephisto, who had reached the point Rin had been at when he'd first arrived.

"He's probably knocked out right now," Rin said as he took them down the hall after leaving his room. Another sneeze brought sparks and cinders flying through the air that Rin swore the hamster reached out to touch before he tucked him out of the way.

"I'm so glad I'm past that point and can eat real food again."

The instant noodles had been fine while he was sicker, but Rin had seen Mephisto's kitchen and there was no way he wasn't going to use it at least once while he was there.

"I think I'm going to try making something for us after I get the tea," Rin muttered, trying to think about what he could stomach and if the ingredients were there for it.

Itching, he sneezed again, billowing fire filling the hallway he kept the hamster from in a protective cage of his fingers until the last of the heat dissipated.

"This is so annoying," he sighed, scrubbing at his hair as he made it to the kitchen.

Claws scrabbled at his fingers as Rin looked down in confusion, seeing the hamster squeeze free only to disappear in a poof of smoke.

"Uh," Rin started, baffled. _That_ was how the hamster got around? "Guess he had somewhere important to be."

Oh well, he'd just get the tea ready by himself and save whatever he made later for the hamster when it came back.

* * *

Amaimon hissed as he appeared in Samael's bedroom, striding to the bed without bothering with "manners" or "etiquette."

He grabbed the twisted blankets Samael hid beneath and yanked, ignoring the sound of them ripping under his claws.

The sickness kept Samael under, his face flushed over the pallor and a sheen of sweat coating him Amaimon also ignored.

A short movement brought him to straddle Samael's hips while Amaimon worked at his belt and pants one-handed.

His other hand went to tug at the robe covering Samael.

Through it all, Amaimon kept thinking about searing flames tantalizingly close, their heat just out of reach all because that naive nephilim of Father's was _protecting_ him from their embrace.

That promise Samael had extracted still bound him, and with it, he couldn't reveal himself to Rin.

Couldn't taste that Gehenna flame.

Shifting just enough let Amaimon hike Samael's leg up, body tilted to the side beneath him as he jerked him into position.

Green eyes opened to slits just as Amaimon thrust in, snarling at the tight heat that resisted his entrance. It hurt, the only slick being blood from the tearing he’d caused.

Samael snapped back, his own snarl baring fangs up at Amaimon as he tried to raise himself on the arm trapped beneath his chest.

“ _Amaimon,_ ” Samael said in a dangerous, warning clack of fangs. He’d extended them along with his claws and reached out as if to rip Amaimon off.

“ _Samael,_ ” Amaimon hissed back again, leaning until he’d bent him enough to paint lines of strain across his face, “he’s _teasing_ me.”

Jerking their hips together forced a cry from Samael and brought a glow to his eyes that promised pain. Good. He’d gone too long with Samael ignoring him to play his human games and being coddled by Rin.

“If- _ah!_ If you crave destruction by his flames so much why don’t you go find _Father_ ,” Samael said, managing to reach a limb weakened by sickness to dig vicious claws into Amaimon’s wrist until he severed tendons. “Or settle for Iblis if you don’t want to experience complete destruction.”

The agony of his ruined wrist brought a moan from Amaimon, pulse picking up and pace increasing at Samael’s encouragement.

“I don’t _want_ Iblis or Father,” Amaimon punctuated their names with bruising thrusts while Samael fell back to the bed, hand losing its grip on Amaimon and his tensing body wracked by shivers.

“I want _him_.”

Glass shattered, muffled into the carpet where it landed as Amaimon snapped his gaze to the door just to catch wide blue eyes and a red face.

“S-sorry, I didn’t-”

Rin fled from his place at the door, tail tucked to his legs.

Panting, Amaimon frowned, considering the events that had just happened.

“Damn you, Amaimon,” Samael snapped his tail to his skin, jolting him to see a peeved glower sent his way. "He was going to brush my hair again and now you scared him off. Get him back!"

That was it. Amaimon began smiling, easing his movements into deliberately slow drags and angling his thrusts to target a specific point.

" _Haa_ -Amaimon! The longer you delay, the more he's going to convince himself it's a good idea to run back to that _twin_ of his."

"Hm," Amaimon hummed and rolled his hips in a rocking rhythm as he pretended to consider Samael's whining, "so should I go get him in my minor form?"

Moans choked from Samael, the glaze the virus put over his eyes enhanced by the pleasure Amaimon sank into him without pause.

"Don't-don't be _obtuse,_ Amaimon, he's already seen y- _you_."

Trailing his hand down to Samael's tail got him some mangled words he didn't pay attention to as he toyed with the base.

"Do you want me to stop now? I can-"

Samael jerked up in a snarl of utter fury and wrapped claws around Amaimon's throat to growl in his face. " _Finish what you started._ "

Gladly. Amaimon pulled Samael to heel by his tail, delighting in the way it made him tighten as he gave up his teasing and began fucking in earnest.

He hiked Samael's leg into better position over his shoulder and dug his fangs into the bared thigh to lap at the blood. Samael tensed and gasped beneath him while it smeared to his face, hot trails making lines of red he chased as far as he could.

His fist drew in an increasing pace over Samael’s tail as he bucked at the sensation, unable to do much more as he twisted in the covers the little Amaimon allowed him to.

The little he could, more like.

Amaimon watched the clenched eyes and sweat-drenched hair over Samael’s face. He'd pressed a flushed cheek to the pillow, biting his lips until they bled and spurring Amaimon on at the sight. He wanted to sink his teeth into every piece of Samael until he was a nightmarish, _furious_ mess on his once-pristine bed and growling about the destruction.

Daydreams of destruction wound him up and followed him into his release as he filled Samael until it dribbled out around his length.

Thrusting a few more times to satisfy himself, Amaimon reached to Samael's neglected length and stroked him to completion.

There. Amaimon grinned, thumb running over the slit to bring a wince of overstimulation to Samael's slackened face. He brought his fingers to his mouth, cleaning them while he waited for Samael to come back online.

Maybe he'd speed up the process.

Amaimon began to knead at Samael's tail where it draped in his hold, watching while he panted and shuddered.

Hm. Amaimon peered at his face, at the tear tracks and mix of saliva and blood around his cracked lips.

"Samael," Amaimon said, furrowing his brows.

When he didn't get a response, Amaimon took his hand from the limp tail and poked a red dot into Samael's side.

Still nothing more than a light flinch of muscles along his flank.

"Oh, you passed out," he said as the answer came to him and he shrugged, seeing his entertainment had abandoned him to sleep.

Decision made for him, Amaimon pulled out and dropped Samael's leg to the bed.

His other source of entertainment was hiding somewhere and he had to track him down.

A guess at Rin's location had Amaimon appearing in the room he'd been given. His arrival prompting a strangled yelp from his target.

“Hey,” he said as Rin dropped whatever had been in his hands, “why did you run?”

“Sorry! Again, sorry again,” Rin said instead of answering him, and that flush on his cheeks traveled up to the tips of his ears at Amaimon’s arrival. “I should have knocked--I didn’t know there was anyone else here.”

“There wasn’t,” Amaimon said, moving closer, head cocked to observe the way Rin tensed and couldn’t seem to look him in the eyes.

“What-I don’t…” Rin started, then trailed off, nose wrinkling and going cross-eyed.

Yes.

Blue flashed into existence with Rin’s sneeze, flames headed straight towards Amaimon as he held out a hand above his head towards the spout.

Searing pain ate through his nerves as he hissed, keeping his hand in the fire until it dissipated in the air to show Rin’s fearful gaze locked on the damaged limb. He brought his hand to his mouth, panting through the healing and shivering where he stood.

“Oh god, not again.” Rin’s whimpers took Amaimon time to register over the pounding pulse in his ears. “Why does this keep happening?”

While it wasn’t the full-body incineration Rin had subjected him to the first time, the taste of his flames after so long being denied them was enough for Amaimon for the moment. He would focus on keeping Rin from fleeing now that he’d gotten some of what he’d wanted.

Stalking towards Rin took him from whatever he’d been mumbling about and got him focused back on Amaimon, a defensiveness falling over his shoulders that straightened at Amaimon’s proximity.

Too late, he didn’t realize Amaimon’s intent until he’d made it and crowded Rin against the wall. Guarded blue eyes watched him with a wariness that hadn’t been there the other times Amaimon had been by him and made his own eyes narrow.

He raised his arm to flatten a palm to the wall beside Rin’s head, tracking the way it made him swallow and press back as if to escape.

Samael had told him not to let that happen, and Amaimon wasn’t about to let Rin scamper off back to some human at this stage.

“Where were you going?” he asked again.

Rin’s gaze flicked to the few items he’d come with and that Amaimon had caught him midway through gathering like he was preparing to leave. Exactly as Samael had anticipated.

“Just, I didn’t think--I thought I’d go home,” Rin said when he didn’t back down, though he still wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m almost better, I can help Yukio out at the monastery, cook and everything.”

Amaimon scoffed and flicked a claw at Rin’s nose to elicit another wrinkle of it and Rin stuttering.

“That didn’t look ‘better’ to me,” Amaimon drawled, “or do you always spout flames when you sneeze?”

While Rin fought between outrage and fumbled starts to whatever excuse he would come up with next, Amaimon continued, shrugging as he said, “Stay. He likes when you spend time with him.”

“Oh,” Rin stopped, falling still and finally meeting Amaimon’s gaze, “he does?”

When Amaimon assessed Rin and determined his urge to run had vanished, he nodded and backed off to summon a sucker. “He wouldn’t have let you in the room if he didn’t.”

More quiet as Rin contemplated what he’d said, though Amaimon wasn’t sure what there was to think about. It was very straightforward.

“I guess…” he turned to see Rin chewing at his bottom lip and staring at the floor, “I can go start working on dinner now?”

Interest lit in Amaimon’s chest. “Food?”

The rest of Rin’s hesitance fell away and he nodded, the earlier confidence returning to his voice as he moved to the door. “Yeah, I can finally eat real food again. I love cooking, are you hungry?”

That was a dumb question. Amaimon was always hungry.

“Yes,” he said, trailing Rin as they made their way to his favorite room in the house. Rin’s tail swept openly at his feet like it had since Amaimon had known him, something he couldn’t tell was on purpose or just the same obliviousness he’d observed from the rest of his mannerisms.

This, Amaimon decided, was much more interesting.

* * *

“He doesn’t look so good,” Rin said in the quiet of the room.

Mephisto breathed in shallow rasps, looking corpse-like on the sheets with the tea untouched on the nightstand to cool. He probably hadn’t woken enough to drink it.

“He’ll be fine,” came the careless response from Amaimon that Rin was beginning to realize was just his personality. “You were the same when you first arrived.”

Rin stopped short of changing out the ice pack. When he turned to Amaimon, a blank expression met him that said Amaimon didn’t see what was so odd about that statement.

“You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Not the whole time,” Amaimon said, working at one of the many suckers Rin had watched him pull from thin air numerous times now.

“And I never saw you?” Rin pressed in an effort to wrap his mind around somehow missing a whole entire person hiding in Mephisto’s huge house, which, now that he thought about it, was totally possible.

“No, you did.”

Before Rin could scream out of sheer frustration at what he was sure was teasing from Amaimon, a poof echoed in his ears and a cloud of smoke enveloped Amaimon. As the smoke dissipated, Rin searched, wondering if maybe Amaimon had left the room for something.

It cleared and he looked down.

“Oh my god, are you kidding me?” he whispered to himself in an effort not to cry.

The hamster stared up at him from the floor, sucker comically large next to his body and even funnier to look at when he shoved it in his mouth.

“I was in my minor form,” it-- _Amaimon_ \--said in a squeaky voice, then, in another poof, returned to normal.

What even was normal anymore? Rin wanted to laugh, then he paused.

If Amaimon had been the hamster the whole time…

Heat rushed to his cheeks so fast he felt dizzy and began sputtering, sitting down on the bed and dragging in wheezing breaths as he fell into a coughing fit. Glancing at Amaimon from the corner of his eye brought the flush right back and Rin fought not to run straight from the room.

He’d _definitely_ heard Rin’s dumb rambling about so many things, his complaints, watched him cry over the state of his life. None of that held a candle to the fact that Amaimon had seen him in the shower, which normally would have been fine, he’d been to bathhouses numerous times.

Except that the last shower had included the utter embarrassment of Belial cleaning Rin’s tail.

Peering up between his fingers at the unimpressed stare still set on him, like Amaimon questioned his sanity, had Rin fighting not to scream into his hands.

His mind swept straight back to the scene he’d walked in on, ears burning until he thought he would set on fire, of Mephisto arched back on the bed, and Amaimon-

“What’s wrong with you?” the fed up words worked to yank Rin from his memories, “Hey, stop ignoring me.”

“I’m fine!” Rin said maybe louder than was proper, “I’m just going to make lunch, coming?”

‘Coming’ rang in his head as Rin scrambled from the bed, trying not to think about the mussed sheets and Mephisto’s sleep slackened face because it kept interposing with clenched fangs and eyes and-

-and he wasn't thinking about that, dammit.

They arrived at the kitchen, the stress his overthinking caused sloughing off. Movement at the other side alerted him to Belial appearing in his usual quiet way.

"Hey, Belial!" Rin said in greeting, not holding out hope that he'd get anything but the usual "my prince" back as he went to the fridge to inspect what he had to work with.

"Uh," Rin stopped, gaze running over the contents of the fridge. "Belial, what is this stuff. It's edible, right? Like there's something in here for lunch that won't kill me?"

There were things actually _glowing_ from the depths that had nothing to do with the artificial lights inside.

"Is this why he only eats instant noodles?"

"Allow me to assist you, my prince," Belial cut in, though he waited at Rin's elbow for him to nod in assent.

Normally, Rin didn't let anyone in the kitchen when he worked, too used to seeing it as his domain that others might mess up with sloppy cooking techniques or moving things around where they shouldn't be.

One memorable occasion of Yukio cutting his finger doing something as simple as slicing cucumbers brought a smile to Rin's face before he remembered he hadn't talked to Yukio in what felt like forever.

The capable way Belial pulled ingredients and set up his prep station soothed some of Rin's anxiety and let him focus on the present.

"What's that?" Rin asked at some of the things Belial chose, getting excited about learning new recipes and itching to get his hands on whatever other weird things hid in the kitchen.

"It's from Gehenna," Amaimon spoke up, slumping at the kitchen island and swiping something from the pile to pop into his mouth that looked like an eyeball.

Gehenna. The world of demons he'd nearly been dragged to by Satan. Somehow, seeing food from such a place put a schism on the image he'd built. Rin didn't think about it, shaking himself to fall into questioning Belial into some sort of cooking lesson.

In the end, they wound up with something Rin tentatively labeled a "sandwich" he watched Amaimon swallow whole like some kind of giant snake in horrified fascination.

It tasted good, though, which was the only thing that mattered to Rin.

"You think he's awake yet? Should we see if he can try the tea now?" Rin said when they'd finished.

Gold eyes flicked to him from Amaimon for a second, then, a casual motion of his wrist stopped Rin short and he gaped as the familiar bundle of plants bloomed from his palm.

"No way, that was you too?" he blurted.

"You weren't breathing, these are mucus clearing and anti-inflammatory in high enough concentrations," Amaimon said like it wasn't the revelation it really was and Rin should have just known these things.

"Wasn't breathing." Rin thought back to the moment he'd flared up and burnt Amaimon the first time, having a secondary realization. "So, you saved my life?"

"Yeah." Amaimon's new sucker clicked as he rolled it over his fangs, still looking like he didn't understand where Rin was going.

Rin pressed his fingers to the edge of the countertop, chewing the inside of his mouth. "Thanks, Amaimon."

A slow nod was his answer. Rin smiled, mood lifted by the meal and an answer to the mystery he hadn't known he'd wanted.

If Mephisto wasn't awake for this batch, Rin was just going to drink it himself, he decided, rubbing at his throat like he could stop the dry, raw feeling that refused to leave.

Opening the doors to Mephisto's room showed Rin he'd woken, though how aware he was could probably be debated.

What Rin thought might be an attempt at a sly grin made a lopsided appearance on Mephisto.

"Didn't run, I see," he slurred out. Rin scratched at his head, trying to parse the words and figure out what he was talking about. "G'job 'maimon."

It fell apart into a mumble Rin didn't bother deciphering as he sighed, helping Mephisto sit up and get a grip on the glass.

Amaimon huffed and flopped onto the bed, rolling to stare with a vacant expression at the ceiling, his normal routine while Rin took care of Mephisto.

"Yeah, yeah, you told me that the last time you woke up," Rin said while he fixed the mess his hair had become again. He had no idea how it happened, because every time he came in, Mephisto slept like the dead and there was no way he tossed and turned enough to get it that messy. "I still don't know what you mean, I definitely wasn't going anywhere."

Ok, _maybe_ he'd panicked a bit. He would have realized once he'd calmed down, Amaimon just got him there faster.

"Hmm, _liar,_ " Mephisto crooned.

"Whatever, bastard."

He took the half finished tea when he saw Mephisto about to lose his grip, setting it down and waiting for him to fall completely asleep.

Sound like a soft rumbling startled Rin as he twisted around to the source.

Green, opened to the barest slits, met him from under the drooping lids of Mephisto's eyes. His cracked lips barely parted to release what Rin swore was a purr, the vibration coming from his chest.

"Um, are you awake?" Rin said, confused and unable to figure out what Mephisto wanted from him or if he was just sleeping with his eyes open. "Lemme just-"

Rin got Mephisto situated under the covers with a new ice pack, drawing away from the stare that wouldn't leave, Mephisto's head tilted his way and purring, still.

"Che," the scoff from Amaimon made Rin look to see he'd rolled to his stomach, wearing what could have been a pout if he'd used more facial muscles. "He's too lazy. He's telling you to stay."

Lazy wasn't exactly how Rin would describe Mephisto being too sick to get out of bed or hold a glass but he could see Amaimon was firm in his opinion.

And, "Stay?"

Amaimon already closed his eyes and patted the bed like it was obvious what he wanted from Rin. He'd draped himself horizontally so that he took up the length of the headboard, leaving a wide square of bed left but no pillows.

With a lack of any argument he could think of that wouldn't get him one of those blank-faced, teasing responses from Amaimon, Rin hid his nerves and crawled onto the free space.

Nothing happened, despite Rin's skin prickling at their proximity even though he'd just been brushing Mephisto's hair like it was no big deal five seconds ago. When nothing continued to happen, Rin felt himself untense, curling to rest his head on his crossed arms as the purrs from Mephisto lulled him into a catnap.

Time ticked by while Rin drifted, content with the midday nap on what was probably the most comfortable bed he'd ever been on. Scents he'd grown used to once he'd been able to smell and two steady breathing patterns left him in a doze. He'd needed the nap, it seemed. In his state, Rin accepted that he'd been pushing himself too fast, some subconscious pressure shoving him forward like he could overcome the rest of his illness faster if he just ignored things.

At the center of the pressure, Rin recognized the figure and name his waking mind refused to consider.

 _Yukio_.

Soft buzzing broke the bubble of sleep around Rin.

"Mmh?" Rin blinked awake, automatically reaching to the source of the vibrations and pulling his phone from his pocket.

Words placed themselves after he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

His breath hitched, already scrambling from the bed and nearly tripping off it in his haste to unlock the phone.

Rin answered the questioning sound from Amaimon with a hurried explanation he didn't remember as he scanned the message from Yukio.

Updates. Yukio mentioning he couldn't get ahold of Mephisto, that the priests were on the mend and his antibody results had come in after the recent viral check. To tell Mephisto as soon as he got the message and ask him to respond with his next orders.

A long breath exhaled from Rin as he slumped to the wall outside the bedroom. Just like the first text he'd gotten, he couldn't seem to stop his fingers from trembling.

There was really only one thing to do. Rin made up his mind, pressing the call button and sucking in a breath in preparation.

"Rin?" The call went through and Yukio's voice came hurried out of the speaker, like he'd been rushing somewhere. "Did you get my message? I just got Misumi through the worst of it this morning thanks to what Sir Pheles had delivered. It looks like he'll pull through. Where's Sir Pheles? I need his directive on when he'd like us to begin at the academy and if he approved my timeline I sent him earlier at his request."

It went on, Yukio's voice filling Rin's ears with the evidence of his stress, something Rin had never heard from him before. All these years of growing up with Yukio--prodigy, hard working, popular, the one Rin was _so proud_ of because he was going to grow up to _help_ people--and he'd never seen this side to him once.

"Rin? Did you get all that?"

"Yeah, Yukio, I got it, Mephisto's just sick with what I got too so he's out of it," Rin said, soft smile pulling at his lips as he cradled the phone to his cheek.

"Are you ready for classes to start? You've been reading the material I sent, right? Please tell me you have."

"I'm ready, Yukio." Rin heard the inhale on the other end that said Yukio was already rushing forward to whatever responsibility he had next. In the background, Rin picked up the wheezing breaths from whichever of the priests he was seeing to.

"Good. I've got to go. I'll see you soon, Rin."

"Bye, Yukio," he said to the click of the phone hanging up.

The hallway echoed with the sound. Or maybe it was just in Rin's head.

Everything flashed back to Rin, of Shiro, of his promise he'd made that night and again in front of a gravestone, and he felt embers burn in his chest like a renewed determination as he stared ahead.

"I'm ready."

* * *

Amaimon's eyes narrowed after Rin scampered from the bed and the room. At his side, Samael snuffled against the pillow, nose twitching like he scented something out. Possibly, he was looking for Rin.

It made sense. Amaimon inched forward, focus on the newly neatened strands of Samael's hair after Rin had run his hands through it in a casual touch. It made _sense_ , because Rin was so free with his doting, not making Samael work for it at all.

Just because he was ill.

He ran claws through purple bangs until he'd undone all of Rin's work, much like he'd seen Samael do to himself out of sight of Rin.

The efforts had seen results, though, and each time Rin noticed the disarray, he'd dutifully fixed it again.

Besides the meals Rin had begun crafting for the both of them, he'd avoided touching Amaimon--seemingly at all costs, even.

Worse, he'd avoided even _singeing_ Amaimon the next times he'd sneezed fire.

Thinking about the situation, what he wanted, and the best way to get it, left Amaimon with only one solution.

He'd just have to get sick faster.

Up until that point, his vessel had been resisting illness, so he'd go to the source.

Claws that had been carding in slow motions to Samael's hair tightened as he fisted his hand and yanked him closer.

Samael startled from sleep just as Amaimon pressed his jaw open to force his tongue in, muffling the affronted gasp.

His tongue extended, searching out the back of Samael's throat where the virus would be concentrated. Amaimon ignored the fangs Samael sank into him that drew blood, filling their mouths he slotted together and seeping out over their lips.

A door clicking followed by a yelp pulled Amaimon's gaze to the corner of his eyes. Once again, there stood Rin, frozen in the entrance and staring at where Amaimon licked into Samael's mouth.

This time, Rin didn't even bother apologizing, slamming the door on his reddened face as he bolted from the room.

"Mmf!" Samael complained until Amaimon allowed him free, a last swipe collecting the blood over his scowling lips before his tongue receded into his own mouth.

"You're _unbelievable,_ " Samael hissed. " _Why?_ "

Would that be enough? How could he be sure?

Maybe…

Amaimon tilted his head, considering.

"Well?"

"I'm going to Rin," Amaimon said instead of answering whatever question Samael had been asking.

Really, Samael wasn't the source, wasn't ground zero, and Amaimon wouldn't be tracking down Astaroth or the humans who’d also contracted the illness. He should be thorough in his efforts.

There was only one other source to try.

* * *

"Why me?" Rin whimpered, furiously trying to scrub the image he'd just walked in on from his mind.

He'd only been gone maybe ten minutes! How was he supposed to know they'd be doing… _that_ when he got back?

It was no use. The way Amaimon had glanced over at him beneath half closed eyes as he'd kissed Mephisto, the way Mephisto had stared from dilated pupils and a flushed face, his hair caught between Amaimon's fingers, _panting-_

Rin clamped his hands to his ears like he could block the sounds he'd heard, walking without direction as long as it was anywhere but the room he'd come from.

Poofing in front of him stopped Rin short, his eyes shooting open-- _too close_ \--just as he ran into Amaimon.

"Amai-"

Hands at his wrists aided Amaimon in shoving Rin to the wall.

"Wha-mmf!"

What was happening? Rin stared, eyes wide on the strands of green hair and pale skin filling his field of vision.

A hot tongue slid over his like it quested for something, far longer than Rin's frazzled mind thought a tongue should be able to extend.

It wasn't until the tongue reached the back of Rin's throat that he returned to the present.

Amaimon was _kissing_ him. He was being _kissed._

By Amaimon!

But hadn't he just--wasn't he with _Mephisto?_

The tip of Amaimon's tongue delved down Rin's throat where the virus had left it raw and itchy, but the sensation shocked Rin into an involuntary hacking fit that got Amaimon to release him so he could gag against the wall.

Tears pricked at the corners of Rin's eyes by the time his coughing fit petered out to leave him gasping and still _massively_ confused.

Rin squinted up through his bangs, lips buzzing and mouth tasting like Amaimon. Gold stared back from an impassive face, a slick tongue traced the edges of Amaimon's mouth before slipping back inside.

Without his say, he tracked the path it had taken.

His chest shuddered, unable to stop the breaths shaking through his lungs, even though they'd gone on longer than the coughing could excuse.

He fled, breaking from the loose grip Amaimon had kept on his wrists. The skin where they'd connected burned like he'd set his own flames on himself, a phantom touch lingering long after he'd left.

When he finally faltered, the familiar smells of the kitchen told him where he'd ended up. Ahead stood Belial.

Dark eyes watched him from Belial's usual careful expression, keeping whatever he might have thought about Rin's disheveled appearance behind a mask.

"He kissed me!" Rin blurted before he could contain it.

"My prince?" The slight widening of Belial's eyes said Rin had surprised him, and Rin considered if it would be worth it to ask him to forget what he'd heard.

"What do I do?" he asked instead, hands going to his head to tug his hair like that would make it any more obvious.

"I'm," Belial started, frowning at Rin, "I'm not sure what you mean."

Strangled whining pulled itself from Rin as he bounced on his feet when he couldn't relax.

" _Nobody_ likes me," he finally admitted in the hopes that it would help explain the panic in his brain and fluttering in his gut. "I've never kissed anyone--and he's with Mephisto!"

When that only deepened Belial’s frown, Rin went to slump on the kitchen island, groaning as he wrapped his head in his arms like he could hide there forever instead of dealing with what had just happened.

“If I may ask, my prince,” came the hesitant voice, making Rin’s ears twitch, “what the problem is in this case.”

Rin just groaned into the countertop before raising his eyes to see Belial standing across from him, waiting for his answer.

“I just, I don’t know what to do,” he said, trying to get his thoughts in order, “or what he wants."

Saying it out loud made Rin sink further to the table. Was Amaimon making fun of him? Maybe because he'd walked in on them and kept accidentally interrupting…

“In my experience,” Belial said, still choosing his words carefully like he wasn’t sure if he was giving Rin the right answer, “the earth king is straightforward with his desires, while games are more my master’s forte.”

That slowed Rin's self-pity party, ears pricking up from where he'd flattened them as he worked through what he was pretty sure Belial meant. "You mean he's not making fun of me?"

Another long moment before Belial shook his head. "It's not for me to say, but I don't believe he's teasing you, no."

The confirmation sent Rin's pulse fluttering to join the butterflies in his stomach as he came to his next problem.

What to do.

Groaning, Rin sank back into his arms. His tail flicked erratically at his feet and he tugged at his hair like it would help him come to a decision.

All it did was give him a dark place to replay the memory of Amaimon pulling at Mephisto's hair and the strands caught between clawed fingers.

He shivered, imagining dagger-like claws running across his scalp.

"If I may," something in Belial's tone had Rin stilling and coming to attention, a deeper part of his instincts brought to the forefront. "You are a prince of Gehenna, offspring of our Father.”

Cool appraisal met Rin when he locked eyes with Belial, straightening his spine under the pressure in the room. The reminder of who his heritage came from should have sent his hackles rising with instant denial. Instead, the way Belial said it, like it was an unavoidable truth of the universe and bigger than just the definition of those words, kept his rage at bay.

When he saw Rin unflinching, he nodded as if in confirmation and continued, “If his advances displease you, burn him to _ash._ ”

Rin’s heart stopped, but Belial wasn’t finished.

“But, if it’s the opposite, the earth king is ever in favor of a forward approach,” he said as his eyes gleamed, head cocked and arms folded behind his back, silent again as he allowed Rin to process.

Every path Rin traveled in his mind led back to the hallway with Amaimon, and further, to a dark room.

“You’re right,” Rin said, hands pressing to the counter as he rose from it, breaths steady in his lungs, his pulse slowed, “I can’t run.”

It wasn't in him to run from a challenge in the first place, something that had gotten him into trouble more times than he could count.

"Thanks, Belial," Rin said as he left the kitchen.

Could it even be called a challenge? It felt similar, the same adrenaline rush buzzing beneath his skin and through his veins that came before a fight.

His tail snapped behind him, a slow purpose carried him back to where he'd left Amaimon.

An empty hall greeted Rin and he inhaled, continuing on.

Then he came to the door of Mephisto's room.

Behind it, he could pick up two slow heartbeats, and they called Rin to step over the divide. The door clicked shut at his back, a secondary distraction to the placid gaze glowing gold through the dark.

"Amaimon," his voice trailed off, eaten by the tension he could feel directing him forward.

Mephisto slept, unconscious again. Rin's heartbeat matched his, despite a part of him thinking it should be racing as he made it to the edge of the bed to stand over his body.

"Are you making fun of me?" Rin said. He needed to know before he made his decision.

"No." A slow blink and Amaimon's answer came without hesitation.

Okay.

Slit pupils tracked the hands Rin brought to rest on Amaimon, fingers tilting his jaw as Rin bent down.

That taste he'd gotten in the hall poured its way into his mouth with the pleased huff of Amaimon's breath to his lips.

He registered a touch to his wrists, and claws scraped along his veins, a light shiver raising the hairs on his skin in a way that had him gasping.

Amaimon didn't waste time taking Rin's open mouth as an invitation to slip his tongue inside while Rin floundered, unsure what to do with his own.

A sharp sting sent his pulse jumping and Rin realized he'd cut himself on the points of Amaimon's fangs. Blood joined the path he traced, startling Rin into breaking the kiss, though it was too late, his own fangs having extended with some instinct he didn't understand.

They'd cut into Amaimon, leaving his lips gleaming a dark red before he licked it away with a tongue already healed.

"Sorry for biting," an odd undertone came out with Rin's apology, rumbling from his chest as he swallowed, forcing his fangs back. "I shouldn't have-I should go, he's sleeping."

It was true, Mephisto's shallow breaths reminded him of the fact that he'd leant over him to get to Amaimon and drained more of the odd headspace away.

Rin began pulling back, already cursing inwardly at himself for not thinking his impulses through. He should have waited until Amaimon wasn't in the room. He should have-

His momentum stopped, claws fisting to his collar. A single move later and Rin found himself yanked to sprawl over Mephisto, suddenly face to glaring face with Amaimon.

"Uh," Rin stuttered, heart back to racing as he tried to keep from laying his full weight on Mephisto.

"Now _you're_ teasing," Amaimon said in an impatient growl. He rose on his knees, taking Rin up so he dangled from his grasp, hands gripped at the wrist to hold himself because he'd have knocked into Mephisto otherwise.

"But he's _asleep,_ " Rin couldn't help saying. Did Amaimon not care?

Scoffing answered him, irritation bleeding from Amaimon's slowly emerging grin. It exposed his red-stained fangs and had Rin's breath hitching in horror or anticipation, he couldn't tell.

"You're worried about him?" The weird purring sound escaped with Amaimon's words through his smile.

Rin gasped as Amaimon brought his other hand to the back of his thigh, claws pricking dangerously close to the inseam. A jerk, and Rin found himself staring down at Mephisto. His heart thundered at his ribs, realizing the position Amaimon had left him in.

Mephisto's long leg, barely covered by the rumpled robe he wore, pressed up between Rin's thighs where he straddled.

Then he watched, chest squeezing around a squeak, as Amaimon reached to dig Mephisto's tail from beneath his body.

Another sly glance from Amaimon, and he yanked.

Hissing erupted, Mephisto's eyes shooting open and fangs baring in a snarl that warped his features. He’d brought his legs up to get leverage, but it only pressed him more firmly to Rin where he’d frozen.

“See?” Amaimon said where he nuzzled at Mephisto’s jaw, hand still wrapped around his tail as he started rubbing it, “He’s awake. Now we can play.”

"Nng," Rin got out, flustered and trying very hard not to grind down onto the thigh between his legs.

"I am going to string you up for the next _century,_ Amaimon," Mephisto said in a hiss that sounded more like a wheeze.

"Cruel," came Amaimon's pouting answer, though instead of looking threatened, he nipped at his jaw, licking the blood he'd brought to the surface away.

His eyes went to Rin's, still paralyzed and legs trembling with the effort of holding still.

"Then you don't want to play with us? I can let you go back to bed." He ducked to Mephisto's ear where it had extended into a long wedge against the pillows, and Rin saw he hadn't stopped rubbing his tail.

"I'll just play with Rin by myself."

At his words, Amaimon dropped Mephisto's tail. It coiled it irritated flexes that parted more of his robe as it drew further up his chest. Tracking the path took Rin's gaze up the exposed chest and dips of his collarbones to…

Green eyes pierced Rin's gaze just as Amaimon moved. A sudden heat at his spine sent him arching, unsure if it was to pull away or get closer.

Amaimon didn't let him choose, arms winding like steel bands across his chest, one dipping lower to the waistband of his sweatpants to grip Rin through the loose fabric without preamble.

"Ah!" Rin shouted, head falling to Amaimon's shoulder and losing sight of the way Mephisto had been staring, pupils slivered beneath lowered lashes, the beginnings of a smile showing needlepoint fangs.

A secondary sensation traced along his leg, Rin cracking his eyes open to see Mephisto's claws idly toying with his pants.

It split his attention, a sound Rin refused to acknowledge as coming from his mouth escaping as he watched Amaimon stroke him in firm, sure touches.

"You've been a menace since you arrived, Amaimon," Mephisto said, not stopping his light brushes over Rin, "but if you leave with him now I really will punish you."

"But you're sick," Rin got out despite the heat making his thoughts hazy, a dizziness he knew Mephisto was definitely also experiencing because he was still in the middle of the worst parts of his symptoms.

He flushed when Amaimon laughed and Mephisto just sniffed like he was annoyed Rin had reminded him of his illness.

"He can just lay there and take it, if he's so sick."

"Take it?" Rin stuttered, breathless, hearing Amaimon but struggling to catch up.

The hand not still palming Rin went to Mephisto's thigh, pressing until Mephisto got with the program and spread his leg. Rin stopped breathing as Amaimon drew his hand up to pull the last slip of robe away, baring Mephisto to both their gazes.

By that point Rin had grown painfully hard, hips twitching under Amaimon's relentless touch and thighs burning with the need to move.

At his back, his tail twisted, caught by the body behind him until Amaimon seemed to notice its increasingly erratic coils.

"Not yet, Rin," he said with a purr that vibrated through Rin and sent him jerking his hips into the insistent pressure.

His hand left Rin, bringing out a moan of frustration before he could stop. It cut off when Amaimon bit at the back of his neck, fangs latching to his vertebrae and mouthing there.

Rin gave in, grinding down onto Mephisto and panting because it wasn't _enough._

" _Patience._ " The rough way Mephisto spoke only had Rin's length twitching, remembering how he'd sounded the last two times under Amaimon's onslaught.

Pre-cum stained the front of his pants, something Rin would have been embarrassed about if he wasn't so focused on the tongue Mephisto drew over his lips or the hand that gripped to his thigh.

That didn’t stop the flinch when Amaimon slid his fingers over the base of his tail to delve past the waistband of his pants as he did the same to Mephisto, leaving his length to circle a finger to his rim.

An irritated growl rumbled from Mephisto and he raised a shaking arm to snap.

"We're going to do things _properly,_ this time."

The poof of smoke revealed a bottle of what looked like oil Amaimon took as Mephisto’s arm dropped back to the bed. He canted his hips expectantly, a sinuous roll of his stomach as he arched beneath Rin.

“Properly?” Rin nearly whimpered, the implications hitting him as Amaimon let it float above his hand, oil falling to coat it, dripping to the sheets and onto Mephisto where it made his skin gleam

"Yes, Rin," Mephisto flicked a claw at him, a flash of his eyes gleaming up at Rin as he murmured his name, "so pace yourself, hm?"

He did whimper then, while Amaimon followed Mephisto's command, pressing fingers inside to bring a satisfied hiss from him as he was stretched.

Before Rin could think past the white noise drowning out everything else in his head, Amaimon's hand left where he'd been kneading the base of his tail. He didn't get a chance to miss the contact, Amaimon returning a moment later to slide down his pants again.

" _Ha-_ " Rin choked on a cry, tail lifting from his spine as a burning sensation hit his nerves while Amaimon stretched both he and Mephisto.

"Your leg, Mephisto," Amaimon said over the pounding rush of Rin's pulse, removing his fingers to lift Rin aside so Mephisto could shift.

Amaimon hummed his approval, claws going to Rin's hips and tugging his pants down before he could think to do it on his own.

"He's ready," Amaimon said to Rin's ear, stretching Mephisto obscenely before his eyes. "Should I help you with this part too?"

Denial strangled out from Rin, half-imagining what Amaimon meant by "help" and how he'd go about it.

A rasping slide along his leg jolted Rin to see Mephisto’s tail twining up under him to find his where it looped, coiling them together as a breathy moan left Mephisto. “Will you make me beg, Rin?”

The thought of Mephisto begging scattered the rest of Rin’s mind, but his body moved for him, obeying nameless instincts that had been clawing for release at the sight. He wrapped his hands around Mephisto’s hips, the strength he’d always had making it easy to drag him forward.

Rin groaned as he pressed into the tight heat, head dropping as he concentrated on not just thrusting the rest of the way in.

Something made infinitely difficult by Amaimon still rubbing his fingers inside him, each sting of being stretched accompanied by a sensation verging on the edge of pleasure.

Then Amaimon crooked his fingers.

"Ah!" Rin cried out and jerked forward, flush with Mephisto as he bottomed out in one short thrust. Mephisto arched, head thrown back and claws digging at the sheets with a guttural moan.

"S-sorry," he tried to say to what looked like pain putting lines across Mephisto's face as he forced himself not to move despite the heat enveloping him in tightening spasms.

Laughter from Mephisto and his eyes opening from the wince he'd been in had Rin hurrying to say, "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

As if in direct opposition to his worry, Mephisto rolled his hips along Rin's length, drawing a low gasp from him while he trembled.

"Oh Rin," Mephisto purred as his hand went to his chest between the part of his robes, "I'm a demon, you can't hurt me _enough._ "

Objection never made it past Rin's lips, Mephisto dragging his claws down to gouge bloody furrows that welled to stain him red.

Whimpering with Mephisto's teasing motions and unable to stop from shifting took Rin from Amaimon, aware in the back of his mind that he'd withdrawn his fingers.

They were replaced by Amaimon's length, filling Rin with an insistent pressure and sending him forward. He dropped onto his arms, framing Mephisto as he panted and shuddered under Amaimon. The tantalizing scent brought saliva to pool in his mouth as Rin swallowed around a dry throat not caused by the sickness.

"Amaimon," Rin gasped, making the mistake of opening his mouth as a hand came to the back of his head, Mephisto guiding him down to his chest. Without his say, his fangs extended, tongue laving over the healing marks as Rin struggled with the urge to sink his teeth in and tear them open again.

Then Amaimon began to move, pulling out until just the head of his length breached Rin before thrusting forward.

Each time their hips met pushed Rin into Mephisto, a building rhythm that shattered every last piece of his inhibitions as he took up the pace.

Heat flared in him, a dizzying cloud shaking him apart until he thought he'd been surrounded by his own flames.

His fangs sank into Mephisto before he could think past the impulse, snarl rising in his throat when it made Mephisto's fingers tighten their grip in his hair.

Their tails wound together, rubbing Rin's fur the wrong way as electric sparks shot up his spine and he drove deeper into Mephisto.

Bruises formed at his hips from the hold Amaimon had there, and bright pain burst across his senses with the claws he'd used to latch to Rin. Another set of claws at his arm kept him on Mephisto as they strung Rin between their bodies.

Rin's moans muffled into Mephisto but only ended with his teeth tearing further in with every thrust while he panted against the skin he'd captured.

Mephisto squeezed around him, mouth parted on a breathless moan before his grip left Rin. The hand over him weakend and dropped across his shoulders, jostled by Amaimon's hard pace.

He went limp beneath Rin, body tensing and quivering as his heart thudded to his ribs were Rin mouthed.

Shifting from Amaimon brought his attention around to see him shove at Mephisto's legs.

" _Amai-_ " Rin's voice cracked on his name, pushed flush with Mephisto and squinting through the bangs that plastered to his forehead as Amaimon practically folded Mephisto in half.

"Hold him," Amaimon said in a rumbled command Rin obeyed without thinking, wrapping his hands to Mephisto's legs and finding the new position putting his mouth right at the beating pulse in his neck.

It called him to latch his fangs to the pulse, feeling it skip as he panted, eyes shuttering again as Amaimon sank back into him, the changed angle burying Rin the deepest he’d gone into Mephisto.

The deepest Amaimon had gone into him, too, a startled cry breaking loose from Rin as Amaimon hit something inside him that brought his teeth down to slice through Mephisto’s skin and blood to well over his tongue.

Something hot slicked against Rin’s stomach, his frazzled mind picking up that Mephisto had come with his cry, his release marking them to slip down their bodies.

Amaimon pressed his chest to Rin’s spine, strands of hair tickling Rin where his head bowed and breaths coming faster as his movements began to lose their rhythm.

Pleasure wound tighter in his gut, his body overheating, caught with Mephisto’s scent filling his nose, the taste of him in his mouth, the feel of Amaimon more than Rin could handle. His tension snapped, taking Rin over the edge as he spilled into Mephisto, their hips meeting beyond his control because Amaimon still hadn’t come.

Too much. It was _too much._ Oversensitivity had tears springing to Rin’s eyes as ragged breaths rasped from his lungs and reminded him he wasn’t nearly recovered enough.

His spine arched under Amaimon’s claws and he scrabbled at the sheets until they tore.

“I can’t-I can’t, Amaimon, _please,_ ” Rin said in a desperate keen and words that slurred from him when he managed to take his fangs from Mephisto.

As if spurred on by his pleas, Amaimon snarled and his grip went bruising, coming in hot pulses and continuing to move as he rode out his release until he finished.

Rin collapsed under him, prompting a sharp exhale from Mephisto at the sudden weight and Rin trying to remember how to work his mouth enough to apologize. He failed as he realized he’d closed his eyes, the room spinning behind his lids with a return of the vertigo.

“Mmn,” Rin groaned, shaking and numb and overwhelmed. He'd lost his grip on Mephisto's legs, having let them drop back to the bed some time between periods of awareness.

Another collection of moments passed before Amaimon recovered, claws prying out of the holes they'd buried in while Rin echoed Amaimon's hiss and twisted his head to grimace at the pain as he pulled out.

Not that it mattered to Amaimon. Rin watched him flop to the side and stretch, satisfied and wiggling to get comfortable.

"Cle-" Mephisto started, struggling to speak around strained breaths- "Clean this mess up, Amaimon."

"Okay." Amaimon raised a hand and his snap took the sticky mess Rin was just becoming aware of away, sheets and clothes returned to order, and Rin's breath hitching at his new position nestled between two warm bodies.

"Good. Now let me sleep." Mephisto's grumble muffled into his shoulder as the fact that Rin would apparently be staying where he was hit him, mind blanking while he processed.

"Oka-"

Rin scrunched his brows, eyes opening just in time to see the confused frown on Amaimon's face.

He sneezed. The earth gave a sleepy rumble.

Silence. Rin and Mephisto both watched the empty expression on Amaimon morph, a slow stretch of his lips into a grin.

"Yes!" Amaimon cheered, giddiness wiping the apathy from him and tail flicking beneath the sheets.

"What?" Seriously, _what?_

Gold flashed from Amaimon's eyes and he latched his claws around Rin's arm, laughing.

"Now, pay attention to me, Rin."

Two and two clicked in Rin's head just as Mephisto groaned and turned over to ignore them while Rin blurted out his realization.

"You _wanted_ to get sick? So I'd pay attention to you?"

"Hm, _yes,_ " Amaimon stuck his nose to Rin's neck and inhaled.

There was only one way to respond.

Tilting his head back to the pillow, Rin decided to take Mephisto's example and gave up to sleep.

It was going to be a long week.

* * *

"It's about time I get my home back from you interlopers," Mephisto said from where he stood at the door.

"You'll miss us," Rin crossed his arms with a bright smile, "Who's going to brush your hair when we're gone?"

"His servant will get stuck with the task," the tiny voice peeped up from Amaimon, shifted into his hamster form, draped his body over Rin's shoulder.

"Poor Belial," Rin mock-sighed, shaking his head and patting Amaimon. "Maybe he needs a break too. He can come visit us in the dorms."

"Stealing my servant too, Rin?"

Rin could imagine the long-suffering stare Belial would be sending off into the distance and laughed.

"If anyone needs to get stolen, it's him," and Rin was sticking to that determination, no matter how many times Mephisto insisted Belial was a conniving demon just like the rest of them and not the saint Rin was convinced he was.

"Go," Mephisto flicked his fingers at them, rolling his eyes, "Pester that brother of yours. He can deal with managing you now."

Yukio. Rin ignored the strange emotions twisting in his gut to stick his tongue out at Mephisto. He didn't know how to act, what he would say when he saw Yukio again.

Nevermind how he was going to explain what he had going on with Amaimon. Rin wasn't good with foresight, but even he could see the stress headache coming for Yukio the second Amaimon decided he'd had enough of being a hamster for the day.

But that was a problem for future Rin to deal with. For the time being, he went to Mephisto and reached to tug him down by his bangs to steal a kiss.

"Bye, don't get too lonely without us," he said, grinning into the affronted look Mephisto wore.

With a final wave, Rin took the key he'd been given and went to the door, thinking of Yukio and the academy.

It was time to start the next chapter of his new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo somehow there ended up being 4 whole nsfw scenes shoved into this chapter xD I guess it's not as many as scent thing? 
> 
> I can finally begun work on the coffee shop au I've had planned for like a year now, so with luck the first ch of that will be out in a month :D


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